Bahadurpura revenue officials in a bind over fake certificates

Hyderabad: After Rajendranagar, the revenue officials of Bahadurpura also find fake birth certificates appended with the applications filed to claim financial assistance under Shaadi Mubarak Scheme.

The Telangana government has introduced Shaadi Mubarak and Kalyana Lakshmi schemes to ensure financial assistance of Rs 1,00,116 for the poor parents intended to perform the marriage of their daughters. However, some fake beneficiaries in connivance with middlemen are swindling the amount using fake birth certificates and blank letterheads to claim the monetary benefit. "We found two bogus birth certificates besides some blank letterheads of different Madrasas appended with the applications filed under Shaadi Mubarak. During the scrutiny, no official records were found of some birth certificates filed under the scheme that left us with no option but to reject the application.

Even a few letterheads of Madrasas were also found with stencilled proforma of caste certificate without mentioning any name over it, except the seal of the Madrasa committee. These instances making it difficult for us to give approval," informed S Ramulu, Mandal Revenue Officer, Bahadurpura. "Most people think that filing an application is enough to secure benefits under the government scheme, which is a wrong premise," he said, adding that in many cases the gullible people were misguided by the middlemen who assured them of government benefit in return for some money. Tugged between Rajendranagar and Charminar areas abutting the National Highway-44, the Bahadurpura mandal is a densely populated area with most of the families living below the poverty line. Taking their poverty as an advantage, many middlemen submit fake certificates and letterheads along with applications in MRO office to claim benefits under different government schemes.

"Many middlemen with political backing rule the roost in Bahadurpura Mandal Office. They connive with the revenue staff and submit fake certificates. With no proper monitoring from the government in place, the genuine persons are made to suffer, while the fake beneficiaries take all the benefits," rued Syed Faheem, convener, Pradesh Congress Committee, Bahadurpura.

It can be mentioned here that last week, the Rajendranagar Revenue officials found fake SSC and birth certificates appended with applications filed under Shaadi Mubarak and Kalyana Lakshmi schemes.