BIRTH AND DEATH REGISTRATION PROCEDURES

The procedure for registration of births and deaths in the states is as per the Birth and Death Registration Act 1969 and the Kerala Birth and Death Registration Rules 1999. Every birth and death has to be registered in the area of the registration unit where birth and death occur. In Kerala, 941 gram panchayats, 87 municipalities, 6 municipal corporations and Kannur Cantonment Board are the Local Registration units.

Currently Birth and death registration process is online. 

In Municipal Corporations and Municipalities it is through the K Smart application. In Gram Panchayats the application name is ILGMS. Both the software applications are developed by Information Kerala Mission. The public can submit application through mobile phones, Akshaya Kendras and directly through the front office of local self-government bodies where birth/death occurs.

 General instructions to be followed in Birth and Death registration procedures.

1. Birth/Death to be reported within 21 days of its occurrence.

2. In the case of birth/death after 21 days to 30 days, registration can be done at the registration units after paying a fine of Rs. 
3.  
4. In the case of birth/death after  30 days to one year the District Birth and Death Registrar can sanction the registration at the Grama panchayat and the Municipal Secretary can sanction the registration at the Municipalities and Municipal Corporations.

4. Births and deaths after one year can be registered with the permission of the Revenue Divisional officer.

5. Births registered without adding the child’s name can be added by paying a late fee of Rs. 5 up to one year.

6. In cases where 15 years have elapsed since the child’s name was entered, the name can be entered by 13.07. 2026.

7. In the case of Birth and registration before 1970, the Inclusion of names and corrections should be made with the permission of the Chief Registrar.

8. Under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, mistakes made in the registration of births and deaths can be rectified.

Manner of issue of birth and death certificates

1. The birth certificate from the Municipalities and Municipal Corporations can be downloaded from the “K Smart Citizen Portal” by entering the date of birth, the mother’s name or the first 3 letters of the mother’s name in the English alphabet (i.e. filling the mandatory field) through the Certificate Search Menu.

2. The birth certificate from the Grama Panchayats can be downloaded from the “ILGMS Citizen Portal” by entering the date of birth, the mother’s name or the first 3 letters of the mother’s name in the English alphabet (i.e. filling in the mandatory field) through the Certificate Search Menu.

3. The death certificate from the Municipalities and Municipal Corporations can be downloaded from the “K Smart Citizen Portal” by entering the date of death and name of the deceased person (i.e. filling the mandatory field) through the Certificate Search Menu.
4. The death certificate from the Grama Panchayats can be downloaded from the “ILGMS Citizen Portal” by entering the date of death and name of the deceased person (i.e. filling in the mandatory field) through the Certificate Search Menu.

Marriage Registration

Under K-SMART, registration of marriage can be applied for and completed from anywhere in the world. This feature is in tune with the High Court verdict that a marriage under the Special Marriage Act can be registered online. Another highlight of the feature is that the wife and husband can complete the registration from different locations. This will be highly helpful to expatriates. This has been made possible by the introduction of video KYC.  

5.     Business Facilitation (licenses for trade and industries) 

Permission from the local government is required to establish an Industry or Factory which may adversely affect public interests such as the environment, public safety and public health or cause nuisance. Licence is required to run Industries, Factories, Trades, Entrepreneurship Activities and Other Services. A Licence from the local government shall be deemed to contain conditions to the effect that anything done in accordance with the licence shall not be detrimental to any public interest and in the matter of services, admission and service to the place wherein it is provided shall be available to any member of the public. A licence shall be valid for five years in the case of urban local bodies and the period of validity of the licence shall be one in GramaPanchayat unless it is renewed for further like periods. Application for a new licence can be submitted and payment can be made online in the citizen portal (https://citizen.lsgkerala.gov.in) in the case of GramaPanchayats and K Smart digital portal (https://ksmart.lsgkerala.gov.in) in the case of urban local bodies.

Citizens can apply for a new license and renewal of license through K-SMRT. At the time of application itself,  the applicant can know the exact documents required for the selected business. Once approved, the fee can be paid and license downloaded. There is provision for the applicant to track the status of application. Building tax arrears on any building taken by the applicant for the commercial activity can be known at the time of selecting the building.

1. Property Tax

Property tax is levied on every building (including the land appurtenant thereto) situated within the area of the respective GramaPanchayat / Municipality / Corporation. It is the major own source revenue of the local governments. The tax is calculated for the plinth area of the building in accordance with its use at the rates applicable per square metre. A remission of tax can be made when the building is kept vacant or not used for any purpose. Property Tax for a year can be remitted in two half-year installments. Any person can remit the property tax of a building online. Default in payment of tax in due time may attract penal actions besides revenue recovery.

The details of functional service available in Property tax module are as provided below

• New Tax Assessment
• ⁠Tax Re-assessment
• Pay Building Tax
• Link My Buildings
• ⁠Tax Exemption- Ex-service, Area, Functionality
• Tax Exemption Revoke- Ex-service, Area, Functionality
• Vacancy Remission
• Vacancy Remission Revoke
• Intimation of Demolition
• Ownership Change
• Add/Update Building details
• Building Certificates
• Residence Certificate
• PDE Receipt Entry – Employee
• Tax Recovery – Employee – (Revenue recovery, Prosecution)
• Legacy Data Management Module (LDMS) for data correction
• Reports- bulk demand notice, building list, building count, field collection report

1. Building Permit 

Building construction and land development in the state requires a permit under the Building Rules. A joint declaration by the empaneled licensee and the building owner that the construction conforms to the statutory provisions is sufficient for low-hazard building construction. The documents required for a building permit are application in prescribed format, building plan, documents proving ownership of land, receipt of fee paid, copy of registration certificate of builder/licensee etc. Building permission should be granted or rejected within 15 days. If the permit is not issued within the stipulated time, the applicant can submit an appeal application to the local authority. If the local body does not issue a decision within 30 days, the permit is to be deemed and the applicant may proceed with construction without any statutory violation. Citizens can file appeals with respect to grievances related to building rules before the Tribunal for Local Self Government institutions.

K-SMART facilitates the expedited issuance of building permits to the public by digitally preparing information on plots and buildings using GIS technology, ensuring a swift and efficient process. A GIS Rule Engine and an e-DCR Rule Engine have been introduced in K-SMART. 70% of buildings come under the low-risk category (Below 10 meters in height and 330 sq.mts in area). The Architect or Chartered Engineer should make the drawing on K-SMART, and the software will guide them. Once they submit, the building permit is issued in under 10 seconds. Details of functional services available in Building Permission module:

• Design with Rule Compliance
• Scrutinize Your Building Plans
• Know Your Land
• K-Map
• New Building Permits- General
• New Building Permit self-certified
• Regularisation + Permit
•  Regularisation + Completion
• Regularisation + Partial Completion
•  New Building Permit Under Govt. approved schemes (Through File Management)
• Land Development (Through File Management)
• Intimation of Telecommunication Tower (Through File Management)
• Intimation of Temporary huts and sheds (Through File Management)
• Intimation of Demolition of a construction (Through File Management)
• Intimation of completion of earthworks. (Through File Management)

e-DCR Rule Engine and GIS Rule Engine

Through GIS (Geographic Information System) enabled local governance, K Smart is a revolutionary step to make spatial planning and control details available at the fingertips of the general public.

GIS Rule Engine

•  Through the “Know your land” module, the general public will be able to know within seconds about the various spatial regulations that are applicable to a particular plot.
•  “K-Map” to easily check maps of various spatial regulations applicable to the state.
•  The map details of CRZ, Master Plans, Airport Zone, Railway Land, Landslide zone, High Tide Line Area, High tension electric lines, can be verified using a single platform.
• Details of issued building permits are published through “Issued Permit Map” for public inspection and the details are updated as per approvals at various stages of construction there by creating a dynamically synchronized map.

EDCR Rule Engine

All the building regulations applicable to the proposed building can be known through the “Design with Rule Compliance” module.

Details

 This is provided during the preliminary phase of the building (Concept Design stage), and the design of the proposed construction can be made fully compliant with the details required by the building bye-laws.

• “Scrutinize Your Building Plans – Scrutinize Your Building Plans module to check whether the proposed plans comply with building regulations even after the design is completed.
•  The customer is given complete freedom in the choice of drafting software to be used for preparing and submitting plans.
• Completely paperless operational steps. Transparent and simple procedures.
•  Validity results of plans are made available within seconds. The automated rule verification process is completely computerized, without any human intervention.

Public Grievance Redressal 

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, K-SMART facilitates online mass petitioning by the public. Under this provision, a person will be able to share a petition prepared by him/her with more people in the form of a deep link. People can become part of that petition by simply clicking on the link. When the petition is received at the local body concerned, the exact number of petitioners will be shown. The status of the petition and details about further action taken on it will be delivered to each petitioner individually through a dedicated messaging system.

  Know Your Land App (Android)

The ‘Know Your Land’ feature in K-SMART enables the public to gain a clear idea about the kinds of constructions permissible in a particular area. The software automatically verifies that the submitted plans comply with regulations, thus simplifying field inspections and expediting the process of obtaining construction permits. K-SMART also facilitates online verification of permits by both the public and licensees at any time. A visit to the plot and scanning the area using the K-SMART application will help to evaluate whether the plot falls within the 1. Coastal Regulation Zone, 2. Railway Zone, 3. Airport Zone, or 4. Environmentally fragile area 5. Master Plan Zone 6. High Tension Line (KSEB). The app also provides details such as the permissible height of the structure and the mandatory setback in meters. This has become possible through the introduction of a GIS Rule Engine and an e-DCR Rule Engine in K-SMART.

K-SMART Know Your Land app is available in Google Play Store.

Development of E-Monitoring Platform

Haritha Mithram Application

The Harithamitram app was developed with the help of Keltron, in view of the need for a comprehensive digital system to coordinate and monitor the non-organic waste management activities at various levels across the state. This application is designed to enable comprehensive monitoring of all activities from doorstep collection of non-organic waste to garbage collection, hand-picking and waste disposal. The app functions as an IT enabled waste management monitoring system that create complete database of origin of waste generation and status of storage facilities, transportation mechanisms etc. Launched on 18th May 2022, the app is currently being used by 98% of local governments in the state. In the remaining 31 places, work is underway to start their operations. It is believed that this target can be achieved by September 30, 2024.

Smart Garbage Management

 Smart garbage management would create an online platform for citizens of Kerala to participate and monitor cleanliness initiative and gaps. This would be a Centralized online aggregation platform with a centralized control room for the state and call-centre facility at each LSGI level. It will integrate the GIS based tracking systems for movement of vehicles involved in waste management with the information arising out of the haritha mithram app. Camera surveillance of garbage vulnerable points, storage facility occupancy would also be factored in. It would enable overall supervision of waste management interventions across the state by multiple stakeholders within Suchitwa Mission, and Local Self Government Department. 

ONDC

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a transformative effort to propel local commerce into the digital age. In alignment with the National Digital India campaign, ONDC empowers local entrepreneurs and retailers, fostering a seamless digital ecosystem and ensuring a level playing field for local businesses. Products of MSMEs in the State will be onboarded and marketed through the ONDC under the Kerala Brand Initiative. Kudumbashree, through active marketing, is making efforts to brand the products of its micro-enterprise groups and has onboarded more than 140 products on the Open Network for Digital Commerce platform.