Maratha quota: Maharashtra govt extends tenure of genealogy committees till June 2026

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has extended the tenure of the genealogy committees, constituted at the taluka level, till June 30, 2026, for the issuance of caste and caste validity certificates to eligible Maratha community members under the Kunbi caste of the OBC category.

Social Justice and Special Assistance Minister Sanjay Shirsat said the decision was taken by his department through a government resolution (GR) on Friday.

Activist Manoj Jarange, who launched his fresh indefinite fast in Mumbai for the Maratha quota demand, has been seeking a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.

He wants Marathas to be recognised as Kunbis - an agrarian caste included in the OBC category - which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education.

The government formed genealogy committees on January 25, 2024, and their tenure was earlier extended till June 30, 2025. Later, the term of the high-level committee headed by Justice Sandeep Shinde (retired), to scrutinise Kunbi records of the Maratha community, was extended till December 31, 2025.

In line with the extension granted to the high-level panel, the state government decided to provide at least six months' additional time to the taluka-level genealogy committees, headed by tehsildars. Accordingly, their tenure has now been extended till June 30, 2026.

The move is aimed at facilitating the issuance of caste and caste validity certificates to eligible members of the Maratha community under the Kunbi, Maratha-Kunbi and Kunbi-Maratha categories.

The provisions of the January 25, 2024 government resolution will continue to apply to these committees, the order stated.