Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

`Rly. employees used bogus community certificates'

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, APRIL 9. As many as 35 officials of the Southern Railway's Madurai Division are alleged to have used bogus community certificates to get reservation in employment.

After making several representations to the authorities concerned, the All- India Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Railway Employees' Association (Madurai unit) has moved the Madras High Court, which in its order dated March 24, 2004 has directed the Director, Department of Adi Dravidar Welfare, to probe the allegations and submit a report within four months.

The contention of the petitioner and divisional secretary of the association, S. Rakkamuthu, is that 35 employees, mostly in the senior supervisory and officers' cadre, used "bogus SC/ST certificates" to get employment and subsequently promotions in the Madurai Division.

Though the Senior Deputy General Manager and Chief Vigilance Officer, Southern Railway, conducted an enquiry, no action was taken on his findings.

Even as a parallel enquiry was taken up by the Madurai Collector pursuant to a complaint sent to the Chief Minister's special cell last year, nothing perceptible happened.

"Of the 35 officials, many used bogus ST certificates. Interestingly, one SC candidate used a fake ST certificate to get employment and speedy promotion prospects. A majority of these employees joined service after 1982," Mr. Rakkamuthu claimed.

He said such complaints should be dealt with seriously since they did not augur well for an organisation like the railways, one of the largest employers in the world.

"By claiming employment/promotion with fake certificates, they have deprived genuine employees belonging to the reserved communities of the opportunities," he said, adding that the issue had also been brought to the notice of the National Commission for SC/ST and the Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, for appropriate action.

While admitting that the allegation of bogus community certificates used by some officials was pending for a few years, a senior official of the Madurai Division said it was up to the State Revenue officials to verify and confirm the veracity of the documents in dispute. "The employees belong to different districts and hence there is a delay in compiling the facts. Now that the matter is pending in the Madras High Court, the law will take its course," he said.

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