Patna, Bihar: The Bihar government and the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) are against each other over the issuance of caste certificates for Kurmis in the state.
The disagreement is on the caste category Kurmis belong to. In Bihar, people of the Kurmi community are put into the category of other backward classes (OBCs) while in Jharkhand, they are identified as Kurmi(Mahto), Chhotanagpur division and listed in the Extremely Backwards (EBCs) category in Jharkhand.
Earlier, the panel of OBC demanded the intervention of the prime ministers in the matter. The Bihar government has said that it comes under the responsibly of the Central government to maintain the caste list and the state is not authorised to do so.
In the centre’s list of OBCs, both Kurmi and Kurmi (Mahto), the Chhotanagpur division includes in the state list of Bihar even though the state was bifurcated into two separate states in 2000.
In the Bihar government’s list of OBCs, the Kurmi are categorised as OBC and Kurmi(Mahto), Chhotanagpur division is categorised among in EBCs.
Drawing PM’s attention, NCBC alleged that salary and agriculture income is being added in the case of OBC certificate for the Bihar governments official’s children, and charged that their inclusion in the ‘creamy layer’ violates reservation rules and deprived many of quota benefits.
Reservation benefits denied: NCBC chief
The controversy started after a meeting between NCBC and top government officials of Bihar. On June 8, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, chairperson of NCBC, wrote to PM alleging that Kurmi in Bihar are not getting the OBS certificates and instead being issued the certificates of Kurmi(Mahto)- Chhotanagpur Division. He claimed that this is depriving a lot of Kurmis of reservation benefits.
“After meeting with Bihar Chief Secretary and other senior officials on May 11, 2023, we came to learn that Kurmi in Bihar is not able to get an OBC certificate. Rather, the certificate issued mentions Kurmi, Kurmi (Mahto)-Chhotanagpur Division. This has been resulting in depriving a large number of people of reservation benefits”, said Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, NCBC chairperson in a letter to the PM.
Further in his letter, Ahir also claimed that while issuing the OBC certificates to government officials in Bihar, their salary and agriculture are being added and the reservation benefits are denied to them by putting them into the creamy layer category. This, according to Ahir, is a violation of reservation rules.
Ahir complained that even after strict instruction to Bihar Chief Secretary to issue no non-creamy layer OBC certificates to Kurmis, there had been “no compliance”.
In response to the NCBC chief, Bihar’s Chief secretary said that we are issuing only OBC certificates to Kurmi.
“In Bihar, we are issuing only OBC certificates for Kurmis. If Kurmis had been deprived of reservation in Bihar on these counts, they would have hit the roads.”, Chief Secretary.