New Delhi: States have been directed to streamline the system of verification of caste certificates to prevent non-SC/ST/OBC persons securing jobs meant for the reserved category by producing false certificate, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. In its final action taken statement on recommendations of Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes tabled in both Houses of Parliament, the Government said it has also issued instructions that wherever it is found that a government servant had furnished false information to secure job, he or she should be removed from service.
It said instructions have also been issued from time to time that verification of caste status of candidates, claiming to belong to SC or ST, should be done at every important up-turn of an employee`s career so that the benefit of reservation goes only to the rightful claimant.
"The Department of Personnel and Training has sent letters to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories requesting them to streamline the system of verification of caste certificates so that unscrupulous non-SC/ST/OBC persons are prevented from securing jobs meant for SC/ST/OBCs by producing false certificate," it said. The department has started receiving information about persons who have faced actions for securing employment on the basis of false caste certificate, the Government said. Narrating various steps taken to ensure that vacancies reserved for SCs and STs are filled by the candidates belonging to these categories only, it said, "a general ban has been imposed on de-reservation of reserved vacancies in case of direct recruitment."
"Instructions have been that in case SC/ST candidates do not become available to fill up vacancies reserved for these categories in first attempt of recruitment, a second attempt should be made for recruiting suitable candidates belonging to the concerned category in the same recruitment year or as early as possible before next recruitment year so that backlog reserved vacancies is not created," the Government said. "If, even after making such efforts, the reserved vacancies are not filled, the vacancies are carried forward as backlog reserved vacancies. Limit of 50 per cent on filling up of vacancies by reservation in a year does not apply to such backlog reserved vacancies," it said.
PTI