‘42 docus can be used to grant Kunbi certificates’

Mumbai: The state cabinet has accepted the third interim report of the committee headed by retired justice Sandeep Shinde, making it substantially easier for Marathas to get Kunbi certificates. The number of documents based on which Kunbi certificates can be issued has been hiked from the existing 10 to 42.
“The state government has got 1.77 lakh Kunbi records on the basis of which the certificates have been issued. Many Maratha children have also secured admissions in colleges this year based on these certificates,” said higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil. One Kunbi document helps at least 300 relatives and extended relatives get Kunbi certificates, he added.
Officials from the general administration department said the decision of increasing the number of documents from 10 to 42 was a major step. “It will pave the way for Marathas to get Kunbi certificates in large numbers,” said an official.
The third report of the Shinde committee, appointed to facilitate Kunbi certificates for Marathas, said that the state government had found a whopping 5.4 million documents related to Marathas which proved their Kunbi lineage. Based on these documents, around 3.73 million Marathas were issued Kunbi certificates between 1986 and October 2023, while another 46,974 certificates with Kunbi, Kunbi Maratha and Maratha Kunbi were issued after October 2023.
Meanwhile, the state government said on Monday that Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil’s demand that all Marathas be issued Kunbi certificates making them eligible for reservation under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota is legally untenable. This was following a consultation with a committee comprising three retired judges, the advocate general and representatives of Maratha organisations.
“Following a thorough discussion with the retired judges, it seems difficult to issue Kunbi certificates to all Marathas. There are legal difficulties in it,” said Patil, who was present at the meeting.
The consultation was held with an eye on the upcoming assembly polls and Jarange-Patil’s pressing demand for blanket reservation.
“The government is talking to various stakeholders and Jarange-Patil’s demand will be taken up with legal experts again after two days,” said Patil.
Some Maratha organisations who attended Monday’s consultation demanded the scrapping of the 10% socially and economically backward classes (SEBC) quota so that they can avail reservations under the economically weaker section (EWS) quota of 10%.
“Marathas were getting around 9% reservation within the 10% EWS quota, which is applicable even in central government jobs and education. But since the introduction of the SEBC quota, they have not been able to avail reservations. Hence, some of the organisations on Monday demanded scrapping of the SEBC Act,” said Patil.