Overview
- The programme was launched at Vidhana Soudha on Monday and the state has handed district officials roughly 4.85 crore digital caste-certificate PDFs with about 57 lakh linked to beneficiaries’ mobile numbers for printing and door-to-door delivery.
- The government has published 11 eligibility criteria for Permanent Residence Certificates, including birth in Karnataka, at least 10 years’ ordinary residence, schooling or higher education in the state, property ownership, electoral enrolment, and seven years of government service for applicants or parents.
- Residents can get documents through a dedicated website, a WhatsApp service, hobli-level facilitation centres, Nadakacheri/Grama One/Bapuji centres or direct delivery by tahsildars and Booth Level Officers, and the state has set up appeals to tahsildars, deputy tahsildars, sub-divisional officers and deputy commissioners for re-verification.
- The BJP and Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka have demanded the programme be suspended and have challenged its constitutional basis, while senior Election Commission officials have said they will accept certificates lawfully issued by competent authorities though whether a PRC alone suffices for enrolment remains not fully clarified.
- The drive could ease document access for voters who lack older records but also invites legal and electoral review that could change how PRCs are treated in the Special Intensive Revision and influence who is eligible to stay on updated rolls.