A teacher in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has lodged a serious complaint that several employees in the Education Department have obtained jobs and promotions based on fake caste certificates. The Education Department, however, refused to provide information under the Right to Information Act. As a result, the matter has now been referred to the State Information Commission, which held a hearing on September 23 and ordered the immediate release of the information.
Vikas Ghuge, president of the Prahar Teachers' Association, claims that many BMC Education Department employees have fraudulently gained jobs and promotions by submitting fake caste certificates and misusing reservation benefits. He alleges that this has led to the wastage of crores of rupees in government funds and calls for criminal cases to be filed against these employees.
Ghuge had initially requested the caste validity certificates of 370 employees from the BMC Education Department, but his request was denied. Following the refusal, he escalated the issue to the State Information Commission, which ruled in his favor and ordered the Education Department to submit the necessary documents.
In response, the Deputy Education Officer has instructed administrative officers in the department to submit the caste verification certificates of all 370 employees by September 29. The order also holds the concerned officers accountable for any delays in providing this information.
Ghuge further argued that the failure to verify the caste of these employees is a serious issue. He pointed out that when Bachchu Kadu was the Minister of State for School Education, he had ordered a caste verification of these teachers, but the verification has still not been carried out.
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