Bengal govt to introduce measures to resolve SC certificate issues

Kolkata, Sep 15 (PTI) The West Bengal government is set to implement new measures to resolve complications surrounding the issuance of Scheduled Caste (SC) certificates, a senior official said on Monday.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the West Bengal Scheduled Castes Advisory Council, chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat ‘Nabanna’ during the day.

According to a senior official of the state secretariat, a major issue arises when persons applying for SC certificates are unable to produce their parents’ caste certificates.

"As per government rules, in such cases, applicants must submit caste certificates of two blood relatives. However, in many instances, relatives are unwilling to cooperate. At today's meeting, there was a proposal to relax the norms and make it just one blood relative’s certificate to complete the process. Chief Minister directed Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to take immediate steps in this regard," the source told PTI.

The CM also directed the official to take a firm stance against fake SC certificates.

During the meeting, Backward Classes Welfare Minister Bulu Chik Baraik said that over 1,200 fake certificates have already been cancelled.

"There have been complaints that some legitimate beneficiaries have been wrongly excluded. The chief minister has issued a warning to prevent such errors in the future," he said.

A decision was also reached during Monday's meeting that there would be greater emphasis on awareness campaigns to ensure SC beneficiaries have access to accurate information about government schemes and services, the bureaucrat said.

Banerjee also highlighted the government's achievements over the past 14 years.

During this period, over 1.67 crore caste certificates have been issued, nearly one crore of which were for SC applicants.

The timeframe for issuing caste certificates has also been reduced from eight weeks to four weeks after application. PTI SCH NN