Pune: State minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation, on Wednesday warned of action against officials from Marathwada who were not cooperative in issuing Kunbi certificates based on the Hyderabad Gazette.Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange a few days ago complained that despite govt issuing an order to facilitate Kunbi certificates to Marathas from the Marathwada region based on the records of the gazette, many govt officials were deliberately delaying the process and harassing people. Responding to Jarange’s complaint, Vikhe Patil on Wednesday admitted that some officials were guilty of not following govt’s order. “I also received some complaints that some officials who have the responsibility of issuing the Kunbi certificates were not doing their duties. They were not being cooperative towards the applicants waiting to get Kunbi certificates,” he told reporters in Ahilyanagar. The minister also said that there would be a final warning to the officials to start issuing the certificates proactively or face action. He said, “Around 300 certificates have been issued so far. The process needs to be sped up, and more certificates based on the records of the gazette should be issued. I have told Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s divisional commissioner to issue a last warning to the officials to start following govt’s order. We will initiate action against those officials who will not work as per the requirement.”Jarange observed a hunger strike in Mumbai last year to get OBC status for the Maratha community. The state govt formed a cabinet sub-committee headed by Vikhe Patil to work on his demands. Following a series of discussions, govt issued a GR to set up committees at village level and find the records of community members from the Marathwada region in the Hyderabad Gazette. According to Jarange, if the officials implement govt’s order efficiently, most Marathas will get Kunbi certificates and thereby reservation under the OBC quota.
