Hawkers in Mumbai are paying up to Rs 20,000 for fake domicile certificates

Domicile certificates which are mandatory while applying for government benefits or housing are being openly sold by lsquoagentsrsquo outside the tehsildar office of Kurla on SN Road in Mulund West These individuals who claim to have connections with senior officials sell these vital documents without requiring personal documents including those proving that one has been residing in the state for 15 yearsA Domicile certificate is proof of your permanent residence given by the tehsildar office district magistrate and revenue departmentsIn Maharashtra obtaining a domicile certificate requires submitting valid documents completing extensive paperwork and proving 15 years of residencymdasha process that typically takes one to two months However these fraudulent lsquoagentsrsquo fasttrack approvals within a day or two by accepting amounts ranging from Rs 4000 to Rs 20000An agent right speaks to an applicant outside the tehsildar office of Kurla on SN Road in Mulund West on March 10 PicRajesh GuptaA midday reporter and photographer posing as applicants seeking a domicile certificate approached several agents Initially they inquired about the procedure and mentioned a missing document which would typically result in the application being rejected through legal channels Eager to assist the agents claimed they had lsquointernal connectionsrsquo who could ensure approval despite incomplete documentation As per norms obtaining a domicile certificate in Maharashtra requires proof of residency for at least 15 years This includes an affidavit affirming residency proof of stay such as rental agreements or ration cards and identity documents like Aadhaar or Voter ID Applications can be submitted online via the Aaple Sarkar website or physically at the collectorrsquos officeIn the absence of these documents applications are typically rejected immediately However lsquoagentsrsquo with alleged internal connections manage to secure approvals despite missing paperworkldquoIf itrsquos needed on an urgent basis we charge Rs 3000 to Rs 5000rdquo said Agent 1 Agent 2 added ldquoIf key documents like a leaving certificate or ration cardmdashneeded to prove 15 years of residencymdashare missing the fee will be R10000 to R12000 Your work will be done within two weeksrdquoDilip Rayannavar tehsildar of KurlaMulundWhen midday asked Agent 2 how they could secure approval despite missing documents he responded ldquoChaipaani khila dete hai officers ko we bribe the officialsrdquoHawkersrsquo demandConversations with these agents revealed that many hawkers seeking domicile certificates to run businesses on roads open spaces and footpaths are either nonresidents of Maharashtra or have lost their residency proof In both cases they simply pay the agents and obtain the certificatesmdashalong with the necessary licencesmdashallowing them to operate without fear of action from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMCDigging deeper into how these agents secure official certificates through fraudulent means Agent 3 who operates in Kurla confidently stated ldquoI have strong connections inside the tehsildarrsquos office Madam you just need to trust me pay what I ask and be patient Yoursquoll have your domicile certificate in a weekrdquoA domicile certificate enables hawkers to access government benefits apply for loans and gain legal recognition for their businesses According to government officials the processing time for a domicile certificate typically ranges from seven to 15 days Online applications are usually faster taking around seven to 10 days while offline applications through the tehsildarrsquos office may take 10 to 15 days depending on the verification processThe official cost of obtaining a domicile certificate in Maharashtra is just Rs 50 However any discrepancies in the application may lead to delays or rejectionOfficialSpeakDilip Rayannavar tehsildar of KurlaMulund acknowledged that complaints about bogus agents had been received ldquoWe do receive complaints about such agents and we immediately report them to the police in the respective jurisdiction for strict actionrdquo he saidTo tighten the process Rayannavar stated that he has personally started reviewing domicile certificate applications and inspecting them for discrepancies ldquoWe receive so many applications every day that it becomes impossible to go through each one individually However both online and offline applications undergo surprise checks dailyrdquo he saidExplaining the scrutiny process he added ldquoFor instance if there are a lot of 40 applications I randomly inspect 20 of them in no particular order Only after this step do they proceed to the next stage of approval which includes an elaborate verification process We are trying to ensure no favouritism or corruption within the departmentrdquoVijaykant Sagar deputy commissioner of police Zone VII stated that no complaints have been received from citizens or the tehsildarrsquos office regarding the issue ldquoIf we do receive any we will take necessary action and an offence will be registered for cheating forgery and other relevant chargesrdquo he saidlsquoTouts duping vendorsrsquoShashank Rao president of the Mumbai Hawkersrsquo Union stated that lsquoagentsrsquo who promise domicile certificates to hawkers often end up cheating them with false assurances ldquoThere have been numerous cases where hawkers lose money after paying hefty sums to these socalled agents who ultimately fail to deliver the certificatesrdquo he saidRaorsquos union is actively fighting for the complete removal of the 15year residency proof requirement for hawkers to operate their businesses ldquoFor hawkers this is about their livelihood They are poor people who do not own houses or bank accountsmdashboth of which are required to obtain domicile certificates Since this rule has been made mandatory some are forced to resort to illegal means only to be duped againrdquo he addedRs 4000 to Rs 20000Price range of services by lsquoagentsrsquo who lsquofasttrack approvalsrsquoRs 50Cost of a legitimately obtained domicile certificate