District Collector Dr. Vipin Itankar has informed the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court that a district-wide verification drive has been launched to scrutinize Economically Weaker Section (EWS) certificates issued over the past three months. This move follows allegations of misuse raised in a public interest litigation (PIL) currently before the court.In a reply filed in the case, the collector noted that the court had earlier directed the petitioner, Advocate Sandeep Badana, to suggest measures to prevent misuse of EWS certificates issued in the open category.
The PIL had highlighted irregularities in the verification process and pointed to potential systemic lapses.According to the affidavit, the petitioner applied for an EWS certificate for his daughter on December 31, 2025, which was issued by the tahsildar’s office. After the matter was brought before the court, the collector reviewed records obtained from the tahsildar and accessed digital application data through the district coordinator of Maha IT, Nagpur.
A re-examination revealed discrepancies, leading to the cancellation of the certificate via the Aaple Sarkar portal.The collector also revealed that the documents had been submitted through an Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendra operated by a Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) in Gandhibagh. Consequently, action has been taken to suspend the kiosk ID of the involved VLE, and a show-cause notice has been issued.
Authorities are currently investigating whether irregularities were committed by the VLE operators, beneficiaries, or government officials involved in the certificate issuance process. The collector informed the court that the cross-verification exercise is expected to take approximately two months and requested further directions in light of the ongoing inquiry. Stay tuned to know more about it and others only with us and if you have anything to share do comment below and share your thoughts.
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