Mumbai: The State cabinet extended the deadline by six months for submission of caste validity certificate for the candidates contesting local body elections. Now the reserved category corporators and councillors have got six months more to submit the validity of their caste certificates.
In last month, the Supreme Court had upheld the Bombay High Court ruling, which had observed that corporators who failed to file valid caste certificates within six months of election declaration date should be disqualified. The validity of a caste certificate is determined by a caste verification committee in every district. In last few elections of local self-government, about 10,000 members have been elected as corporators and councillors from the reserved categories such as SC, ST and OBC. These members of municipal corporations, municipal councils, zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats could not file their cast validity certificate within the deadline, and hence facing a threat of disqualification.
The government is going to amend the Mumbai Mahapalika Act, 1888, Maharashtra Mahapalika Act, 1949. The amendment will be implemented with retrospective effect that is from April 7, 2015. There are many cases pending with the cast validation committee for cast verification. During the election period there are many aspirants for the elections and due to this burden, the committee could not issue these certificates in prescribed deadline. As the committee is failing to issue the certificate the elected member has to lose his post.
The elected candidate having the caste certificate after contesting the election with 12 months’ period can submit the certificate within the 15 days of the date of issuing the government resolution. This new amendment will be applicable from May 7, 2016, for Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti and for Grampanchayat it will be applicable from March 31, 2016.
