The BMC in consultation with the state government will amend the Registration of Birth and Death Act (RBD), especially with regard to death.
The idea was conceived after Praja Foundation released a whitepaper on the state of health in Mumbai and the deaths caused by various ailments. The BMC has claimed that the statistics of deaths presented (due to various ailments) are incredulous and unsubstantiated.
“In 2012, there were 80,000 deaths and by a rough estimate around 20,000 to 25,000 doctors must have initialled the death certificates. They could have been of different streams, including allopathic, unani, homeopathy, and so on. The point here is that the death report is primarily signed for the purpose of disposal of body for cremation and does not establish the actual clinical cause of death with collaborative evidences,” said Manisha Mhaiskar, additional municipal commissioner, BMC.
The BMC has vehemently disputed the whitepaper of Praja Foundation and said that it would write to the NGO and also hold a meeting. “We want them to substantiate the data and tell us how they arrived at these unconvincing figures,” said Ms Mhaiskar.
According to Praja, deaths in the city have increased by 600 per cent in the last five years. Further, Praja reported 9,168 TB deaths for the year 2010-2011, while the BMC’s figures under the Revised National Tuber-culosis Control Program-me (RNTCP) stood at 1,185. “Their statistical study is also not scientific,” said Ms Mhaiskar.