Caste certificates: Camps in colleges to check touts

To discourage people from going to touts for caste certificates and making endless visits to department offices.

To discourage people from going to touts for caste certificates and making endless visits to department offices,the state Social Welfare and Justice Department,Chembur,is organising camps at educational institutes and offices to help people with application forms.

Camps at university campus and companies premises would cut the long queues at the department office. HSC student Vaibhav Kamble,who has made visits to the Social Welfare and Justice Department office,said: At the time when I am supposed study for Class XII exam I am busy making rounds of the department office. I need the caste certificate this year as I am going to opt for engineering after HSC. We have to wait in the queue all day. Some of the officials are very rude and they never provide proper information. I think setting up camps at colleges and university campus will stop all this.

Yogesh Dond,a student of production engineering,said: The process of getting caste certificate is very slow. I had applied for the certificate nine months ago,but have not received the certificate yet. I hope the new system would improve this.

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Yashwant More,research officer,caste validity committee of Social Welfare and Justice Department,Chembur,said: We had received a number of complaints about touts charging money for the certificates. This (the effort) would reduce our load by 20-30 per cent and even applicants will not have to visit us again and again.

The touts charge Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 for a certificate. More said the new system would ensure transparency in the procedure,We always take suggestions from people who vist our office and most suggest camps at educational institutes. There has been a general perception among the people that government officials are corrupt and always unwilling to help. The camps will help us maintain transparency, said More.

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