MARGAO: The Goan’s habit of waiting for the last minute for anything is proving to be quite costly for many aspiring candidates at the panchayat elections. This is true for those waiting for the caste certificate to contest from seats reserved for SC, ST or OBC.
Deputy Collector Uday Prabhudessai revealed he was issuing the caste certificate only after verifying the caste certificate issued by various organizations and to verify the caste certificate some document proving that either the applicant or his forefather was a member of the caste has to be produced.
Uday said his office would not issue the caste certificate based on the certificate issued by any organization but only after conducting checks if that applicant really belonged to that caste.
“A trawler owner is not necessarily a fisherman, and similarly a person employed to tap coconut sap is not a toddy tapper,” he said giving examples.
He asserted that till date he has not rejected any application for a caste certificate but instead had asked the applicant to produce the relevant document which in the case of the Catholic community is the birth or even marriage certificate where the person’s profession is mentioned.
