Balangir, Aug. 21: The Western Orissa Adivasi Kalyan Mahasangh opposed the Orissa Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of Caste Certificates) Bill, 2011, which the state cabinet approved last week. The bill would be introduced in the current Assembly session that begun last Wednesday.

A rally of the tribals hailing from various parts of western Orissa was organised by the Mahasangh at Titilagarh yesterday where the tribal leaders had opposed the bill saying that they did not accept the provision made for punishment of the guilty official issuing fake caste certificates.

After the rally, the protesters handed over a memorandum to sub-collector Biswanath Sahu. The memorandum containing 17-point charter of demands was addressed to Naveen Patnaik.

The tribals set a deadline of August 27 to make necessary correction in the bill to make the punishment more stringent, failing which they would take to streets.

Mahasangh secretary general Niranjan Bishi said the bill approved by the state cabinet was weak as far as the punishment provision was concerned. “We oppose the bill as we don’t accept the provisions made for punishment of the guilty official issuing fake caste certificate. In the bill, there is a penal provision of imprisonment of only six months and fine of Rs 2,000 for the guilty official. The punishment should be exemplary. There should be imprisonment of at least seven years and fine of Rs 5 lakh for issuing fake caste certificate.”

The tribal leader said peoples’ representatives like the sarpanch and the MLAs should not be given power to issue caste certificate.

The Mahasangh has been fighting for identification of the fake tribals, who have been enjoying the reservation benefits meant for the tribals by illegally possessing fake caste certificates showing them as belonging to the tribal community.

“Though the federation has been fighting for the cause of the tribal for the past five years, the government has done little to identify the guilty and punish them. The tribal outfits of western Orissa have been organising a series of protest programmes in the form of rallies, dharna and gheraoes all over the region, but government has not paid any heed to their demands,” said Bishi.

The Mahasangh had submitted a list of 355 fake tribals in Balangir district to the government.

Similarly, it had informed that there were 141 fake tribals in Sonepur district, 204 in Bargarh district, 154 in Boudh district, 896 in Kandhamal, 24 in Sambalpur district, 12 in Sundargarh district, 14 in Nuapada district, 68 tribal in Kalahandi district, five in Deogarh district and 18 in Nowrangpur district.