Mumbai, April 7 The Maharashtra government has decided to appoint designated custodians across all urban local bodies to permanently preserve citizens' living wills, formally known as advance medical directives.
A government resolution (GR) issued on Tuesday stated that municipal commissioners, chief officers of municipal councils and nagar panchayats will act as custodians, responsible for safeguarding and maintaining these legal documents, in line with directions of the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court.
According to the GR issued by the Urban Development Department, the move aims to ensure secure, permanent preservation of living wills submitted by citizens in urban areas and to streamline access to such documents when required.
The government has developed a uniform digital platform on the MahaULB portal to facilitate storage and management of living wills. A dedicated module has been created to enable citizens to upload their directives and seek appointments with the designated custodians for verification and processing, it said.
The government has allocated Rs 6.49 lakh for development of the digital platform and stated that maintenance expenses will be met through provisions under the Urban Development Department's e-governance budget.
The resolution outlined both online and offline procedures for submission of the documents.
Under the online process, applicants must upload their legally executed living will, following which the custodian will verify documents and provide an authenticated copy within seven days. In the offline process, applicants can submit notarised documents physically, which will then be digitised and uploaded by the custodian.
Custodians have been entrusted with the responsibility of verifying the identity of applicants, ensuring the authenticity of documents, and issuing certified copies. They are also authorised to provide access to the documents to parties concerned as per requirements, said the GR.
The resolution further specifies that citizens can cancel their living will by submitting the original document to the custodian, who will mark it as cancelled and update the status on the digital portal.
A registration fee of Rs 1,000 will be charged for the service, of which Rs 500 will be deposited with the state government.
The resolution cancelled any prior appointments of custodians made by urban local bodies and mandates that all existing living wills be transferred to the newly designated authorities for further action.
Notably, a living will is a legal document that allows individuals to specify their preferences for medical treatment in situations where they may become incapacitated, slip into a persistent vegetative state or are unable to communicate their decisions.
This document ensures an individual's wishes regarding life-sustaining medical treatments are respected even if he/she is unable to communicate them.
