Kohima DC directs officials not to issue ST certificate to non-Nagas

KOHIMA: Deputy Commissioner of Kohima, Shanavas C, on Thursday issued an order not to issue Scheduled Tribe/Backward Tribe/Indigenous Inhabitant Tribe certificates to children of non-Naga fathers as well as non-Naga children adopted by Naga parents.

Stating that it was in pursuance to Nagaland government’s notification in June 2012, Area Administrative Officers (AAOs) under the Kohima district have been directed to maintain strict compliance while verifying the authenticity of the applicants before forwarding them to the issuing authority.

The order also directed all the concerned AAOs to issue similar instructions to all the village councils and GBs within their respective jurisdiction for strict adherence of the government order.

When asked how the district administration will implement the order effectively, Shanavas told Eastern Mirror that they do the verification whenever they receive any application and proper verification is done to make sure that bogus indigenous certificates and ST certificates are not issued. 

‘We are taking extra precautions by doing proper verification. Whenever there are any doubtful photographs, we double-check with the concerned leaders of that area and even the village,’ he said.

He added the order was issued as per the government guidelines and to make the administration’s “job easier” by informing the public “not to entertain such (fake) applications”.

He further said the order is only for Indigenous/ST certificates and has “no connection” with the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN).

It may be recalled that the office memorandum of the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department No. RCBT-5/87 (Pt-III) issued dated June 11, 2012, stated that: “It has been observed that certain District Administration is issuing Scheduled Tribes/ Indigenous Inhabitant/ Backward Tribe Certificate without proper verification, and in some cases tribe certificates are issued in the name of tribes not listed in the recognised Tribes of the State”.

In this regard, the deputy commissioners/ additional deputy commissioners are reminded “to meticulously verify the genuineness of the claim before issue such certificates, and also to see that children of non-Naga father’s as well as non-Naga children adopted by Naga parents etc are not to be given Scheduled Tribe/ Backward Tribe/Indigenous Inhabitant Tribe Certificates”.

It further stated: “To see that Indigenous/ Backward tribe certificates are to be issued only in the name of the 14 recognised Naga tribes (now 15)…”