West Bengal orders re-verification of caste certificates issued since 2011

The West Bengal government has directed district administrations to begin re-verification of all caste certificates issued since 2011, including those distributed through Duare Sarkar outreach camps, according to a report by The Times of India.

The backward classes welfare department issued the directive on Friday, covering nearly 1.69 crore caste certificates issued over the past 15 years. These include around 1 crore Scheduled Caste (SC) certificates, 21 lakh Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificates and 48 lakh Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates, the report said.

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Of the total, about 47.8 lakh certificates were issued through 10 phases of the state government’s Duare Sarkar camps.

Citing the government order, the report said the “authenticity and genuineness” of several caste certificates had been questioned by different quarters. Authorities also flagged concerns that some second-generation caste certificates may have been issued on the basis of disputed documents.

The state government has directed issuing authorities to carry out the re-verification exercise in line with prevailing norms, given the “importance and sensitivity” of the matter, according to the report.

The order also warned of legal action and strict penalties if any caste certificate is found to have been issued improperly.

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Separately, the government has ordered fresh scrutiny of caste certificates issued to individuals whose names were removed from electoral rolls during the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the report added.