As many as 14,148 Kunbi caste certificates have been issued by the administration after scrutinising more than two crore documents in the eight districts of Maharashtra’s Marathwada region, MLA Bachchu Kadu said here on Tuesday.
He was speaking to reporters on his way to meet, as the government’s representative, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, who has demanded, among other things, that Marathas be given Kunbi caste certificates as the Kunbis enjoy reservation in the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category. The state government had assured, following a Jarang-led agitation for Maratha quota last year, that Marathas in Marathwada region would be given Kunbi certificates if they could produce documents from the Nizam-era showing that their ancestors were described as Kunbi. Kadu also met Divisional Commissioner of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar here before speaking to the media.
The distribution of Kunbi certificates so far was not completely satisfactory but the work will continue apace during the next fortnight, the independent legislator said.
‘’So far, 2.02 crore documents have been scrutinised. As many as 31,576 mentions of Kunbi caste were found in these papers. Of 15,848 people who had applied for Kunbi certificates in the region, 14,148 persons were issued the certificates,’’ he informed.
A government official said the highest number of certificates were issued in Beed district. District-wise figures of certificates issued were as follows: Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar 1,513, Jalna 1,778, Parbhani 1,879, Hingoli 55, Nanded 127, Beed 6,387, Latur 119, Dharashiv 2,290.
