Kerala Cabinet nod for Kerala Nativity Card Bill

The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday (February 18) gave its nod for the Kerala Nativity Card Bill that empowers the State government to issue Nativity Cards, which, according to the government, would serve as an authoritative document for services provided by it and other “social requirements.”

The Nativity Card is modelled on the existing Nativity Certificate issued by the State government to certify that a person is a Keralite. The card will be accepted as an authoritative document for services provided by the State government and other social requirements, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office said on Wednesday.

The Kerala government’s proposal to introduce the Nativity Card, which received the Cabinet’s in-principle nod on December 24 last year, had drawn wide attention as it came amid the controversies over the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll and the consequent concerns over citizenship.

The December 24 Cabinet meeting had, in principle, agreed to replacing the existing Nativity Certificate with the photo-affixed permanent Nativity Card.

The Bill is likely to be introduced when the current session of the State Assembly reconvenes on February 23.

For the purpose of the card, the Bill defines ‘native’ as someone who was born in Kerala and has not accepted foreign citizenship or someone who has a Kerala-born ancestor who had not relinquished Indian citizenship.

Individuals who have relinquished citizenship will not be eligible for the card. If a holder relinquishes citizenship after receiving the card, the card will be null and void. People born outside Kerala to Keralites who were outside the State on livelihood-related or other reasons also would fall the ambit of the definition of ‘native.’

Individuals who require the card should apply to the tahsildar concerned, says the Bill. Although the Tahsildar is the official designated for sanctioning the Nativity Card, registers on the cards will be maintained in village offices, according to the Bill.

It also suggests that the State government may issue a notification on the circumstances in which government departments can make use of the card, alongside other documents, as an authoritative document.

Any person who require the card should apply before the official concerned in the prescribed format and by remitting a fee.

Announcing the December 24 Cabinet decision regarding the card, Mr. Vijayan had at the time described it as an “authoritative and legally-backed” document that enables individuals to easily prove that they were born in Kerala and are residents or permanent residents of the State.