In a major overhaul, the West Bengal government has ordered the re-verification of caste certificates issued in the state since 2011 to ensure their authenticity and transparency. The Suvendu Adhikari government has directed the district magistrates to re-verify 1.69 crore SC, ST and OBC certificates. The decision comes after several complaints emerged over the past few years regarding many of the caste certificates issued by the previous TMC government.
“You are aware that around 1.69 crore caste certificates have been issued since 2011… Now, it has been observed that the authenticity and genuineness of some Caste Certificates issued since 2011 have been challenged by different quarters,” stated an order issued by the secretary of the backward classes welfare (BCW) department on Thursday, (14th May). “You are, therefore, requested to kindly advise all the Sub-Divisional Officers, who are the certificate issuing authorities, to re-verify all the Caste certificates issued since 2011,” the order further added.
#BreakingNews | West Bengal government has ordered re-verification of all caste certificates issued since 2011 to ensure authenticity and transparency, with possible cancellation of those linked to names removed from electoral rolls during recent SIR exercises.
— DD News (@DDNewslive) May 16, 2026
Since 2011, 1.69… pic.twitter.com/ypvDmknkFy
The caste certificates issued to the people who were removed from the state’s electoral roll during the SIR exercise will also be scrutinised and might stand cancelled. Notably, out of the 1.69 crore, around 47.80 lakh caste certificates were issued against applications received through the Duare Sarkar camps. According to the letter, certain second-generation caste certificates might also have been issued during this period. About 1 crore of the certificates were issued to the Scheduled Castes, 21 lakh to the Scheduled Tribes and 48 lakh to Other Backward Castes.
Duare Sarkar was a flagship outreach programme of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, which was launched on December 1, 2020. Under the programme, the state government aimed to deliver government schemes, caste certificates, and public services directly to citizens through special camps organised at the Gram Panchayat, municipality, and ward levels across the state.
The West Bengal Secretary reportedly said that if it is found during the re-verification that any certificate has been issued improperly, appropriate action will be taken as per Sections 9 and 10 of the West Bengal Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Identification) Act, 1994 and Rule 3 to Rule 7 of the West Bengal Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Identification) Rules, 1995.
