SHILLONG: The state government has made it mandatory for married couples to furnish marriage certificates for all official purposes.
This was informed by the under secretary of the Excise, Registration, Taxation and Stamps Department to the convener of Maitshaphrang.
The letter to the convener of the Maitshaphrang, Michael N Syiem, also said all the government departments are mandated to ensure that couples are made to submit marriage certificates for official purposes.
Syiem had urged Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to implement a law where all departments must immediately make marriage registration certificate mandatory.
He had also requested the chief minister to immediately implement the Meghalaya Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act, 2012.
In his memorandum, Syiem had said the increasing number of single mothers in the state and cases of husbands abandoning families without giving financial support to children result in high school dropout rates and juvenile crimes.