Mumbai, Jul 22 (IANS): Amid the fresh agitation launched by the pro-Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday announced that the students, especially from the Maratha community, can submit the caste validity certificates within six months.

The Chief Minister said that the students admitted to various educational institutions for engineering, medical and professional courses for the academic year 2024-25 can now submit the caste validity certificates within six months from the date of application.

The Chief Minister’s Office in a release said that the students from the Maratha community would not face any problems in getting the caste validity certificates, especially amid the ongoing legal battle over the implementation of 10 per cent reservation cleared by the MahaYuti government through an enactment.

“They can now submit in six months since the application for the caste validity certificate was made,” the Chief Minister’s office said.

The government’s decision is important as the caste validity certificate is required for admission to vocational education courses. After the results of the 10th and 12th classes, numerous applications are being made seeking caste validity certificates.

In addition, the state government has taken steps to issue Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community with Kunbi records.

Maratha community students have been applying for caste validity certificates. However, the admission process was hampered due to the delays in the submission of caste validity certificates due to various procedural problems.

With Mondya’s decision, the students from the Maratha community in particular can submit the caste validity certificates within the next six months from the date of application if admission is done under the Maratha quota.