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 examine Economically Weaker Section (EWS) certificates issued over the past three months, following allegations of misuse raised in an ongoing public interest litigation (PIL).In a reply filed in the matter, the collector stated that the court had earlier asked the petitioner, Advocate Sandeep Badana, to suggest measures to curb misuse of EWS certificates in the open category. The PIL had alleged irregularities in the verification process and pointed to possible systemic lapses.According to the affidavit, the petitioner had applied for an EWS certificate for his daughter on December 31, 2025, which was issued by the tahsildar’s office. After the issue was raised before the court, the collector sought records from the tahsildar and obtained the digital application data from the district coordinator of Maha IT, Nagpur. Upon re-examination, the tahsildar found discrepancies and cancelled the certificate through the Aaple Sarkar portal.The collector also stated that the documents had been uploaded through an Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendra operated by a Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) in Gandhibagh. Action has been initiated to suspend the kiosk ID of the concerned VLE, and a show-cause notice has been issued.Authorities are now verifying whether any irregularities were committed by VLE operators, beneficiaries, or government staff involved in the issuance process. The collector informed the court that the cross-verification exercise is expected to take about two months and sought further directions in view of the ongoing inquiry.
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