Maharashtra: Government shies away from stripping bogus tribals of their jobs

When the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC) of Maharashtra decided last week to launch a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the tribal certificate scam in response to a series of dna reports, it was considered to be the first step taken to curb fake cases. However, the same council, chaired by the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, has shied away from stripping bogus tribals of their jobs, which they have occupied through fraudulent means.

Instead, it has decided to regularise all those appointed before 2001.

This is despite the fact that a couple of reports submitted by the government's own agencies have suggested that as many as 45% employees in the state administration have gotten through the scheduled tribe (ST) quota with forged documents.

"It's not easy to take action against such a large number of people, who could be in their lakhs. There could be huge social and political ramifications," admits Vishnu Savara, the tribal development minister, who is also the co-chairperson of the TAC. "They are from other quota categories. Hence, we have decided to shift them under their respective quotas and fill the vacated posts with real tribals," he added.

Most of these bogus tribals reportedly belong to specially backward category (2% quota), nomadic tribes (2.5%, 2% and 3.5%) and denotified tribes (3%). These communities have got a lot less reservation in government jobs and education compared to scheduled tribes, for whom 7% posts are reserved.

The caste-politics of Maharashtra revolves around reservation benefits. The SBC, NT and DT communities include mainly Dhangars, Vanjaris, Malis and Kolis, who are considered to be significant vote banks. Observers accuse politicians of backing and supporting the scam over the years for political benefits.

"It is easy to target and tweak the tribal quota as the community is the most backward among all those that are entitled to reservation benefits. On the other hand, the SBC, NT and DT, which include Dhangars, Vanjaris, Malis and Kolis, are better off both socially and economically. They also hold considerable political power," said professor Surendra Jondhale, a political commentator.

Jondhale adds, "The BJP holds considerable base among the SBCs, DT and NT communities, while the Shiv Sena has a sizable base among Kolis (SBCs)."

Opposition parties blame the ruling BJP and Shiva Sena for political patronage given to this scam."If the matter is thoroughly investigated, the Shiv Sena would be in trouble. Everyone knows about the Sena's base among Agri Kolis and how they have become Mahadeo Koli in past few decades," said NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik.

Congress leader Padmakar Walvi blames the previous Sena-BJP government for giving open support to bogus tribals. Manohar Joshi alleged, "The Supreme Court in its 1994 decision (in a case of Madhuri Patil versus state of Maharashtra) had ruled that fake tribas must be expelled from service. However, the Sena-BJP government, under the leadership of Manohar Joshi, brought a government resolution (GR) on June 15, 1995 granting relief to those who had got the jobs before 1995. We had opposed their decision then."

He added: "Now, the Devendra Fadnavis government has only continued the political patronage started by Manohar Joshi by extending the amnesty deadline to 2001."

When asked what the Congress-NCP government did in 15 years to clear the mess, Walvi said: "We created a law to set up caste-validity committees in 2001. We also brought a GR in 2013 which granted amnesty to those who declared that they had gotten into the tribal quota without being one, with penal action being initiated otherwise against them."

But when asked how many government officials have so far been booked or expelled, Walvi sidestepped the question. "It was an administrative fault that the drive was not carried out aggressively."

Responding to the opposition's allegations, Savar said: "Why did Congress-NCP keep mum for 15 years?"