Verify caste certificate within 6 months of joining: Parliamentary panel

A parliamentary panel has asked the Centre to verify caste certificates of employees of the Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes Community within six months of joining to deal with the "inordinate delay" in the verification of caste certificate of the SC and ST Community.

The panel asked the Centre to issue guidelines to this effect by the Budget Session to ensure that pending cases of withheld pension of pensioners from the SC/ST are addressed.

In the ninth report of the parliamentary committee on the welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, where it examined cases of atrocities in public sector undertakings (PSUs), public sector banks and other organisations, with special reference to cases related to withholding pensions and retirement benefits of SC/ST employees, the panel said that the Department of Personnel and Training should issue guidelines so that an employee’s caste verification is one within six months of joining.

The panel noted that there are several cases where the verification of caste certificates of SC/ST employees took place at the end of their career in several government departments.

This led to the withholding of pension and other emoluments of these employees, the panel said, and termed it as “gross harassment” of the employee, both mental and physical. The panel further said that the organisation should be held responsible, and not the employee.

SC/ST employees in several ministries, departments, PSUs, banks and autonomous bodies were facing the same problem, the panel said.

“The Committee... strongly recommended that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in consultation with DoPT, Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) and State Government must draft a suitable legislation keeping in view the observation made by the Parliamentary Committee after approval of Cabinet, introduce it in the next Session of the Parliament 2022 to get it passed.

"The Committee are of the firm view that after passing of Prevention of false caste certificate Bill by incorporating suitable provision to protect the interest of the SCs and STs community,” the panel said.

The committee said that pension guidelines should also be issued.

As per representations from the Delhi-based Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad, there were complaints from 136 pensioners from Tamil Nadu alone whose dues were pending in various ministries.

Seven of these complainants had passed away and in 11 cases, dues were finally settled. With 33 complaints, the ministry of railways had the maximum complaints, followed by ministry of shipping with 29 complaints and the finance ministry with 19 complaints.

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