Chennai: Obtaining a community certificate often turned out to be a harrowing experience, especially for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students. The state govt has sought to put an end to the delay in issuing the certificates now. State social justice minister Vanni Arasu said district district collectors have been directed to ensure time-bound issuance of community certificates.As per the manual for issuance and verification of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe community certificates, applications from SC students must be disposed of within two days of submission, while ST applicants should receive their certificates within seven days. In cases requiring detailed verification and field inquiry, the final decision should be taken within 15 days.“During field inspections, nearly 50% of the petitions we receive relate to community certificates. We found that many youngsters, particularly from Scheduled Tribe communities, were unable to pursue higher studies seamlessly because of delay in getting community certificates. In several cases, officials delayed the process without any valid reason,” Vanni Arasu said. Officials have now been instructed to follow the deadlines strictly.The department has also sought a detailed report on the status of all pending applications, including reasons for any rejections, as part of a state-wide review of the certification process.Tahsildars are the competent authorities to issue SC community certificates, while Revenue Divisional Officers and sub-collectors are authorised to issue ST community certificates.“The guidelines are clear and the timelines are well defined. But they are not being followed in many cases,” the minister said and added that they have sought a district-wise report on the number of applications received over the last two months, the status of each application, and reasons for any delay or rejection.“Appropriate action will be taken wherever officials have failed to process applications without justification,” he added.
