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As many as 1,832 appointments in various government departments were allegedly secured using fake caste certificates during 2010, the government said on Wednesday.
"Information about appointments secured on the basis of fake or false caste certificates is not centrally maintained. However, the Central government had undertaken a one time exercise to collect information about appointments secured on the basis of fake or false caste certificates in 2010.
"As per information received from various ministries or departments, etc., 1,832 appointments were allegedly secured on the basis of fake or false caste certificates," Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V Narayanasamy told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday in a written reply.
It was reported that out of the 1,832 cases, 276 had resulted in suspension or removal, etc., whereas 521 cases were entangled in litigations, while on the remaining 1,035 cases disciplinary proceedings were pending, the minister said.
The government instructions provide that an appointing authority should verify the caste status of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes candidates at the time of initial appointment as well as at every important upturn of the employee's career.
Chief Secretaries of states or Union Territories have been requested to issue instructions to the district magistrates, district collectors, deputy commissioners of the districts to the effect that when asked to verify the veracity, etc., of caste certificates, they should ensure at their own level that they are verified and reported to the appointing authority within one month of receipt of the request.
"In order to rule out collusion between candidates holding false or forged certificate and employees at the district level or sub-district level, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against officers who default in timely verification of caste status in such cases or issue false certificates," Narayanasamy added.