Tamil Nad

Govt. retracts its order on EWS certificates

The State government on Thursday reversed its decision of not allowing income and asset certificates to be issued to candidates of the economically weaker section (EWS) in the general category.

Hereafter, there will be no bar on tahsildars to issue such certificates but the document should state that it is meant only for seeking admission to Central educational institutions or employment in the Central government, said a circular issued by Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Revenue Administration K. Phanindra Reddy to the Collectors. This marks the restoration of the original decision of the State government in May 2019, asking Collectors to have the certificates issued to persons belonging to the EWS for the purpose of education and employment in the Central government, a senior official said.

Through a circular of June 4 this year, Mr Reddy’s predecessor, J. Radhakrishnan, informed the Collectors to give instructions to the tahsildars against issuing the certificates. This paved the way for litigation in the Madras High Court, where the government, on June 30, informed the Court that it had constituted a Group of Ministers to consider the matter.

In January 2019, Parliament adopted a Constitutional amendment on the 10% quota for the EWS. A notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training in the Central government on January 19 last year had defined a candidate of the EWS as one whose family had a gross annual income below ₹8 lakh. A year later, the Centre told the Supreme Court that it would be the States’ prerogative to provide the 10% quota.

Next Story