Mumbai: Corporators across party lines raised the issue of birth and death certificates at the BMC general body meeting on Monday, pointing out that citizens are facing difficulties in obtaining birth certificates following the recent controversy over the alleged fraudulent birth certificates issued in the last two years and the SIT inquiry into the matter.According to the corporators, several students planning to go abroad for higher studies, as well as citizens whose children are living overseas, are facing problems in obtaining birth certificates or getting corrections made to them, preventing them from travelling abroad.BMC additional commissioner Vipin Sharma said that around 19,000 certificates were cancelled and that the system was being streamlined. He added that there were teething problems with the Civil Registration System (CRS), which were being resolved.Leader of the Opposition Kishori Pednekar said that citizens wishing to travel abroad were unable to do so because of the delays. She urged the civic administration to make efforts to help students obtain their birth certificates in time so that they could pursue their studies overseas.Congress corporator Ajanta Yadav said that birth and death registration offices were witnessing large crowds due to faults in the CRS system. Citizens were facing considerable inconvenience, she said, with even minor spelling corrections taking a long time.Congress corporator Karen D’Mello said that citizens were receiving birth certificates only after delays of six to eight months, and in some cases, even up to a year. She said that citizens living abroad who wanted to sponsor their parents were unable to obtain the required birth certificates. D’Mello also pointed out that members of the Christian community face a unique problem as newborn babies are often discharged from hospitals before they are formally named.Corporator Nisha Parulekar said that people born in 1960 and 1961 were being told by ward office officials that records of their births were unavailable. Responding to the corporators’ concerns, he also admitted that the printing of some records from 1960 and 1961 was being delayed. He said that the records were now being scanned and would subsequently be made available to the wards.E also admitted that the printing of some records from 1960 and 1961 was being delayed. He said that the records were now being scanned and would subsequently be made available to the wards.