After correspondence at the official level failed to tackle the Administration’s helplessness in issuing Scheduled Caste certificates to persons born in UT after November 1, 1966, Administrator General (retd) SF Rodrigues has sought Home Minister P Chidambaram’s intervention in the matter.

Asking the Home Minister to resolve the matter at the earliest, Rodrigues shot off a letter to him saying, “The matter is pending with the Government of India since long. As per the government’s instructions dated March 22, 1977, a person is eligible for the grant of SC certificate, if he is a permanent resident in the relevant state/ UT, on the date of Presidential Notification. In the case of Chandigarh, the date of notification is November 1, 1966. Thus, persons belonging to SC, born after November 1, 1966, are not issued SC certificate”.

Chandigarh Administration has been taking up the matter with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Ministry of Home Affairs since 1998. However, despite several meetings, nothing concrete came up. Even Rodrigues wrote a letter to the then Home Minister on March 3, 2005; which too did not bring about any result.

Ministry of Home Affairs asked Chandigarh Administration to submit a revised draft scheme, which should be simple and also solve the peculiar problem of Chandigarh, without creating complications elsewhere in the country. Accordingly a draft scheme was worked out in consultation with the ministry and forwarded on September 29, 2006.

“Since no decision has been taken by the Government of India on the issue, persons belonging to SC are facing great difficulties in availing the benefits of reservation,” Rodrigues wrote, adding the solution could be a part of the government’s 100 days programme.

... contd.