Telangana to Issue Family Register Certificates to Protect Voters

The Telangana government has issued orders to provide Family Register Certificates (FRCs) to ration card holders across Hyderabad and the state to safeguard voter registration during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Issued under Government Order 172 by the revenue department, the initiative aims to assist genuine voters facing documentation difficulties ahead of the claims and objections phase starting August 10.

Under the government order, a statewide electronic Telangana Family Register is being established by utilizing the Food Security Card database managed by the Civil Supplies Department. Citizens will be able to apply for the Family Register Certificate through the MeeSeva platform for a service charge of ₹62. Every application submitted through MeeSeva will automatically route to the Tahsildar of the concerned mandal, who serves as the approving authority.

The initiative was introduced after examining the difficulties citizens face in presenting reliable family composition records for government services and electoral scrutiny. The Election Commission of India has included family registers prepared by state or local authorities among its 12 approved documents for verification during the SIR process.

The electronic register will assign a Family Register Identification Number identical to the ration card number for each household. It will record the name of the head of the family, names of all family members, their relationship with the head, age, date of birth, gender, Aadhaar numbers, and present address.

The decision has been welcomed by political and community leaders, including All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who previously submitted a representation on July 10 to Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju. Government advisor Mohammed Ali Shabbir stated that he submitted a proposal to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on July 13 suggesting a register model based on Karnataka's Permanent Residence Certificates. Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society Vice-Chairman Faheem Qureshi added that the online service will reduce paperwork and simplify household verification across Telangana.