Panel asks Govt to frame guideline for SC/ST certificate verification

The government should create guidelines to ensure that an employee's Scheduled Cast/ Scheduled Tribe certificate is validated within six months of joining the service, according to a parliamentary panel. The parliamentary standing committee on the welfare of SC/STs recommended that the Department of Personnel and Training, in collaboration with state governments, make caste certificate verification a time-bound process so that it is not used to harass unsuspecting SC and ST employees when they retire.

The committee stated that the verification process frequently takes longer due to the inaccessibility of old records. This especially is the case if verification is being done after 30-35 years of joining by a person.

"The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (Department of Pensions and Pensioners Welfare) should issue clear guidelines to all PSUs/organizations/Public Sector Banks, etc., that a person's caste certificate be verified within six months of joining," the panel said in its report tabled in the Lok Sabha. 

The State Level Scrutiny Committee that issued the certificate shall be sought to verify the certificate's authenticity in a minimum of six months or before the employees' confirmation, whichever comes first, at any expense. If the state-level scrutiny committee is unable to do so for any reason, it must request an extension in writing, detailing the reasons, for no more than six months at any cost, it said.

It's tough to find records that are more than a decade old. By that time, most office staff have retired or been transferred, and they are unable to verify the authenticity of a certificate issued by their predecessors many years ago, according to the panel.

In a recent incident, as the Tamil Nadu government has yet to verify their caste certificates, numerous Central government employees from Scheduled Tribes have had their retirement benefits postponed. Similarly, a number of employees' promotions also have been put on hold.

Also read: Several Central Government Employees from TN denied pension & promotions as pending cast verification