Maratha quota: Authorities in Maharashtra's Dharashiv begin distribution of Kunbi caste certificates
Maharashtra over the Maratha quota demand, authorities in Dharashiv district of the state on Wednesday started distributing Kunbi caste certificates to the eligible Maratha community members, paving the way for their inclusion in the OBC category.
The first such certificate was handed over to Sumit Mane from Kari village in the district based on the proof, an official said. District collector Sachin Ombase handed over the Kunbi caste certificate to Mane.
The development comes a day after the state government published an order asking officials concerned 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.
The Maharashtra cabinet had last month decided that Kunbi caste certificates will be issued to those Marathas hailing from Marathwada region who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam era that recognise them as Kunbis.
The government resolution (GR) issued on Tuesday asked the 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).
Kunbis, a community associated with agriculture, are grouped under the OBC category in Maharashtra and enjoy reservation benefits in education and government jobs.
Talking to reporters after giving away the Kunbi caste certificate to Mane, Dharashiv collector Ombase said, «The committee formed over the Kunbi issue visited every district of Marathwada and tried to find proofs from pre-1967 period.»
In Dharashiv alone, 40 lakh records were examined. A total of 459 Kunbi records were found, of which 110 are from Kari village, he said.
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