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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Maratha quota stir poised for revival

Manoj Jarange issues August ultimatum as CM cites record certificate distribution Mumbai: Maharashtra is bracing for renewed political turbulence as the Maratha quota agitation threatens to engulf the state once again. Prominent activist Manoj Jarange Patil has sounded a clarion call for a final, decisive protest beginning August 29, marking the third anniversary of the community’s relentless struggle. In stark contrast, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stepped in to defuse the escalating...

Maratha quota stir poised for revival

Manoj Jarange issues August ultimatum as CM cites record certificate distribution Mumbai: Maharashtra is bracing for renewed political turbulence as the Maratha quota agitation threatens to engulf the state once again. Prominent activist Manoj Jarange Patil has sounded a clarion call for a final, decisive protest beginning August 29, marking the third anniversary of the community’s relentless struggle. In stark contrast, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stepped in to defuse the escalating tensions, asserting that the government remains highly responsive to the community’s demands and that the pendency of caste certificates is virtually negligible. Addressing a massive press conference at Antarwali Sarati in the Jalna district of Marathwada, Jarange Patil expressed deep frustration with the state administration. He accused the government of deliberately deceiving the Maratha community and employing delaying tactics. According to the activist, the state has discovered approximately 58 lakh Kunbi caste records, yet the administration continues to withhold vital Kunbi certificates from eligible Maratha community members. Issuing a stern ultimatum, he demanded that caste certificates based on the Hyderabad gazette be issued to all rightful beneficiaries by August 28. Failing this, he warned, a massive mobilization will commence from every village across the state starting August 19. He passionately stated that the community has been sacrificing its blood for the youth for three years and will not back down until the issue reaches a logical conclusion. Robust Defence Countering these allegations, CM Fadnavis presented a robust defence of the Mahayuti government’s track record while speaking to the media in Nagpur. He emphasised that caste certificates are processed and issued promptly upon request. He firmly stated that everyone who has applied for a caste certificate has received it, adding that the number of pending cases is exceedingly low. Fadnavis dismissed the notion that certificates are being arbitrarily denied, reinforcing that the current administration has made and executed more pro-Maratha decisions than any previous government. He maintained a conciliatory tone, noting that the administration remains open to dialogue and is willing to find constructive solutions if any genuine grievances persist. Progress Report The state government’s claims are corroborated by the latest progress report from the Justice Sandeep Shinde committee, which was established to oversee the distribution of Maratha-Kunbi, Kunbi-Maratha, and Kunbi certificates. As of July 27, 2026, the data from the Divisional Commissionerate in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar paints a picture of swift administrative action in Marathwada. Out of a total of 311,609 applications received, a staggering 311,033 applicants have been successfully issued Kunbi certificates. Only 515 applications faced rejection, while a mere 61 remain pending across the division. Furthermore, officials noted that 72,012 certificates have been distributed in the region from September 2025 to the present date. A district-wise analysis of the Marathwada region highlights this extensive distribution network. In Beed district, the administration achieved a near-perfect clearance rate, distributing 206,789 certificates against 206,799 applications, with zero pending files currently. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar saw 25,211 certificates issued from 25,295 applications, leaving only 15 pending. Similarly, Jalna district processed 18,128 applications to distribute 18,053 certificates, with just 13 awaiting approval. Parbhani and Hingoli districts reported the distribution of 20,832 and 13,286 certificates, respectively, with negligible pendency. Nanded district cleared all its 4,841 applications with no backlog, while Latur and Dharashiv districts successfully distributed 2,751 and 19,281 certificates, respectively. Demands’ Charter Despite these administrative milestones, Jarange Patil has expanded his charter of demands, intensifying his critique of the state’s welfare mechanisms. He has now called for the creation of a dedicated Maratha welfare department, questioning why the Maratha community cannot have a separate ministry similar to the one existing for OBCs. He alleged that nine ministers in the current coalition are actively opposing this proposal, threatening to expose their names during the mega rally on August 29. Furthermore, he lashed out at the government over the systemic failure in implementing existing welfare schemes. He claimed that despite official resolutions granting Maratha students parity with OBC students, educational institutions are not enforcing these benefits at the school and college levels. He also accused the state of shutting down initiatives under the Sarathi institute and noted that flawed loan processes under the Annasaheb Patil Corporation are turning into bad debts, effectively ruining the CIBIL scores of young entrepreneurs. Capping off his grievances, Jarange Patil alleged a discriminatory bias in government recruitment, questioning the state administration over what he termed an “apartheid” against Maratha candidates.

IRCTC blew up Rs 2600-cr for website upkeep

Mumbai: The Railway Ministry’s listed ‘Navratna’ company, Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) has admitted under RTI that it spent a whopping Rs.2,619 crore for the maintenance and upkeep of its website, www.irctc.com.

 

The amount – data available for the past three years - is collected as the innocuous-sounding ‘Convenience Fees’ from crores of passengers annually booking online tickets on the IRCTC website.

 

The Convenience Fees (CF) collected were: Rs 802-crore (2022-2023), Rs 863-crore (2023-2024) and last year’s Rs. 954-crore (2024-2025) – totaling to a staggering Rs. 2,619 crore.

 

The IRCTC stated that it collects only CFs for online bookings of tickets and does not charge a separate Transaction Fee (TF) from the prospective travelers.

 

The revelation was made in response to a RTI query posed by Pune businessman Prafful Sarda, seeking details of the IRCTC’s CF revenues starting from 2004.

 

“However, it was declined on grounds that it was a huge data which was not readily available and doled out the hair-raising figures of the last 3 years. There are different categories of the CF charges, as per the RTI reply,” Sarda told ‘The Perfect Voice’.

 

The 27-year-old company said the CF collected for online bookings is ploughed back for “the upkeep, maintenance and running of the website”.

 

For booking through IRCTC Sleeper Class tickets, the CF is Rs. 15+GST and for all air-conditioned class bookings, the CF is Rs 30+GST.

 

However, for online ticket bookings through BHIM or any other UPI, the IRCTC levies Rs 10+GST for all non-AC tickets and Rs 20+GST for AC classes.

 

On an average, 12,38,000 tickets were booked daily (2023-2024), or more than 45-crore tickets annually from the IRCTC website, and the CF amounts are non-refundable.

 

“When a single government service portal collects such astronomical amounts from customers as CF, what about other similar public-private portals and their massive incomes by this route,” asked Sarda.

 

Criminal loot

Council for Protection of Rights President, Barrister Vinod Tiwari said this amounts to a ‘criminal loot’ which IRCTC is disguising as expense for maintenance of its website.

 

“This simply reeks of a scam. No website needs such an amount only for the upkeep-maintenance, as IRCTC claims. The CBI must probe this fraud and bring out the details before the public,” demanded Barr. Tiwari.

 

Terming it as ‘blatant fleecing’ of passengers, Mumbai stock market consultant Rajesh Shah said CF’s are levied by practically all service websites of banks, utilities and other providers, many take a percentage of the transaction amount, so the consumer is in the dark about what amount is actually deducted.

 

“The government should stop this, and must intervene to announce a flat CF of One Rupee for any online transaction/s, irrespective of the amount. Already extra charges are levied for a certain number of ATM withdrawals/transactions, besides the GST,” Shah told ‘The Perfect Voice’.

 

Though IRCTC said the option of booking tickets offline is also available, it controls a stupendous 83 per cent of the online ticketing on the Indian Railways (IR), and the remaining paltry 17 per cent is divided among multitudes of private players and tour operators.

 

A high-ranking IR source suspects something amiss as such a huge amount is not required to be diverted for merely upkeep and maintenance of a website.

 

IRCTC: Jewel in the railways’ crown

Set up in Sep. 1999, the New Delhi-based IRCTC is the professional hospitality and travel arm of IR for upgradation of catering services over IR and boost rail-bound domestic and in-bound tourism in the country.

 

It is intended to upgrade, professionalize and manage the catering and hospitality services at railway stations, on trains, etc, to promote domestic and international tourism through development of budget hotels, special tour packages, information, commercial publicity and global reservation systems.

 

IRCTC’s core activities are: Catering & Hospitality, Internet Ticketing, Travel & Tourism, Packaged Drinking Water (‘Rail Neer’) through 19 plants across India, and its operations are sprawled across 5 Zonal Offices, 10 Regional Offices, and one Internet Ticketing and Tourism Office each in New Delhi.

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