Eligible Marathas to get the OBC Kunbi certificate, benefits

Team Blitz India

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Government has decided to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, paving the way for them to avail reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

A Government Resolution asks officials to translate old documents having references to Kunbis and written in Urdu and ‘Modi’ script (which was used to write Marathi language in earlier times). These documents are to be digitised, attested, and then put in public domain.

The decision comes a day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said a Government-appointed committee scrutinised 1.72 crore old documents (including those of Nizam-era) and among them 11,530 records were found where Kunbi caste was mentioned. Kunbis, a community associated with agriculture, are grouped under the OBC category in Maharashtra and enjoy reservation benefits in education and Government jobs.

To validate the evidence documents submitted by 12 different departments of the Maharashtra Government, the administration has been asked to modify the 2012 rules for issuing caste certificates to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Nomadic Tribes and OBCs, said the Resolution.

It said the officials should adhere to the procedure recommended by the Government-appointed Justice Sandeep Shinde (Retired) committee for granting Kunbi caste certificates to the Marathas in the Marathwada region.