The Punjab Government on Thursday issued directions to all the Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) and Tehsildars regarding issuance of SC, ST certificates in time to the migrant people from other States belonging to these categories.
“It was brought to the notice of the Government by various organisations that after issuance of government letter dated March 16, 2009, various district administrations had stopped issuing caste certificates to the SC, ST category persons migrating from other states to Punjab,” said the state SC, BC Welfare Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike.
He said that it has been made clear in the Central Government’s letter dated March 22, 1977; September 18, 1982; August 6, 1984; and Punjab Government’s letter dated January 17, 1996; and December 2, 1999, that the migrant population coming to Punjab and belonging to SC/ST category, be issued SC/ST category certificates irrespective of the fact that whether the concerned person’s caste is included in the list of SC communities in Punjab or not.
“But it had also been made clear that migrant person can avail benefits from the state of their origin only and are not entitled by right to avail the benefits accorded to the SC, ST communities of Punjab by the state government,” he added.
Ranike also said that those persons who were permanent residents of Punjab on the date of notification of the SCs of the state, are only considered as SC community of Punjab along with their offspring and it has been made quite clear that the state of origin of such persons for availing benefits as Scheduled Caste is the state of Punjab.
The persons, who have migrated from their state of origin to Punjab, are to be considered migrant persons for the purpose of availing benefits as SCs, he said.
Ranike said that the migrant person can be issued SC certificate on the basis of the SC category certificate issued to the parents (father-mother) of a migrant person by the competent authority appointed by the state of origin of that migrant person. “But, in case the authority feels to have comprehensive probe first, the certificate can only be issued after such probe,” he added.
The certificates can also be issued manually in case such a need arises in order to ensure the benefits to the migrants as SCs by the Centre and their state of origin, he said.