LUCKNOW: The birth certificate officially gets a twin in UP: the caste certificate. A meeting chaired by CM Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday decided to institutionalise dual certificates — of birth and caste — for every newborn child within 15 days of an application being made.
The decision is seen as an extension of BJP’s renewed bid to seamlessly implement welfare schemes for socially backward communities that played a crucial role in the party getting a second consecutive term in office. A government official termed it a “fantastic idea” for precise and systematic execution of welfare schemes in the long run. The pre-Independence practice of conducting a caste-wise census was discontinued post-1931, which is why there is no census data on the population of OBCs in the country. The Mandal Commission estimated the OBC population at 52%, while the National Sample Survey Organisation, based on its 61st survey (2004-05), pegged it at 41%.
UP revenue board chairperson Mukul Singhal said caste certificates for newborn babies within a fortnight of applying for one would spare people the later hassle of getting the document to avail benefits of reservation in jobs, admission to educational institutes, scholarships and other welfare schemes designed for the backward castes. “A caste certificate is a permanent and a vital document which could be of immense use for the people,” Singhal said. The document is also a pre-requisite for those seeking to contest reserved seats in the state legislature and Parliament.
Officials said an applicant needs to submit a request to the tehsildar concerned in the prescribed format along with a certificate from a gram pradhan or ward member. Two witnesses must certify the person’s caste. The tehsildar will get an inquiry report from the lekhpal or revenue inspector, based on which the official will issue the caste certificatewithin a week.
