No injustice to OBCs, Kunbi certificates to be issued only after due verification: Bawankule

Mumbai, Sep 10 (PTI) Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday affirmed no injustice will be done to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and only those having authentic Kunbi records will be issued certificates in line with the notification on Maratha quota.

Maratha community applicants seeking Kunbi certificates for availing quota will have to furnish papers related to their lineage with the agrarian group already enjoying OBC status, gram panchayat and tehsildar-level committee reports, and these caste documents will be issued only after due verification, he asserted.

"Sub-divisional officials must ensure that no fake (Kunbi) entries are accepted. The government decision has to be implemented strictly," he told reporters after chairing the first meeting of the newly formed cabinet sub-committee on OBC issues at Mantralaya (state secretariat) here.

The meeting was attended by cabinet ministers who are members of the sub-committee, including Chhagan Bhujbal (Food and Civil Supplies), Ganesh Naik (Forest), Sanjay Rathod (Soil and Water Conservation), Pankaja Munde (Environment), Atul Save (OBC Welfare) and Dattatray Bharane ( Agriculture).

Bawankule, a BJP minister, noted there are 353 communities in the OBC category and welfare funds worth Rs 3,688 crore are pending for disbursal, resulting in a halt to scholarships to candidates amounting to Rs 1,200 crore.

The sub-committee also discussed the need to allocate land for building hostels and government offices, said the revenue minister.

Earlier this month, the state administration issued a government resolution (GR) to implement the Hyderabad gazette, a British-era record which will simplify the procedure for Marathas with Kunbi heritage to apply for Kunbi caste certificates. The GR announcement led Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange to end his five-day-old hunger strike in Mumbai.

The Kunbi is a traditional farming community and they have been included in the list of OBC category in Maharashtra in order to make them eligible for government reservations in jobs and education.

Members of the committee raised objections to issuing Kunbi-Maratha certificates on the basis of incorrect documents, Bawankule maintained.

Bhujbal, while criticising earlier GRs on Maratha reservation, expressed displeasure over inadequate allocation of funds for OBCs and demanded urgent release of resources for education and hostels for the community's students, Bawankule said.

The NCP minister, a prominent OBC leader, is vehemently opposed to the inclusion of Marathas under the OBC category.

Munde (BJP) emphasised that Marathas are not socially backward and urged strict scrutiny of documents before issuing Kunbi caste certificates. Other ministers, including Rathod (Shiv Sena), Naik (BJP), Bharane (NCP) and Save (BJP), also placed their views before the sub-committee formed last week in the midst of the Maratha quota stir, Bawankule informed.

The revenue minister further said the sub-committee suggested formulating a loan scheme for OBC youth on the lines of the Annasaheb Patil Corporation to promote self-employment and business opportunities.

The meeting also deliberated on several issues related to the community, including 100 per cent scholarships for students pursuing professional courses, expansion of overseas scholarship seats from 75 to 200, reservation for Other Backward Classes in housing schemes of state agencies MHADA and CIDCO, a Rs 1,000-crore provision for development corporation, and institution of a Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh OBC Social Service Award.

According to Bawankule, there was also a demand that welfare schemes with 100 per cent subsidy should be launched for OBCs, VJNT (Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes), nomadic tribes and special backward class farmers. PTI MR RSY