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Amid a fresh wave of protests in 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.
"As per the government's decision, the process of issuing Kunbi certificates has been initiated in our district. As per the records, we issued the first Kunbi caste certificate today. We are going to identify the remaining beneficiaries and give certificates to them," Ombase said.
"We are willing to issue these certificates in the next 8-10 days (to the applicants). A team of the revenue department will approach the applicants and issue the certificates to them," he said.
The records that are found are uploaded as certified copies on our district administration website, he added.
"The remaining documents will be uploaded in the next couple of days. People should apply online with appropriate documents, address proof and family tree," the official said.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has been observing an indefinite fast for the quota demand at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district. Speaking on Wednesday from the protest site, Jarange asked the government to stop the process of issuing Kunbi certificates to the Maratha members, saying he wants reservation for the entire Maratha community.
A day earlier, he said the Maratha community will not accept an "incomplete reservation" and the Maharashtra government should call a special session of the state legislature on the issue.