EWS (Economically Weaker Section) Certificate in Chandigarh

What is an EWS certificate in Chandigarh?

An EWS certificate in Chandigarh is the Income and Assets Certificate that the Revenue Department of the Union Territory issues to prove a resident belongs to the Economically Weaker Sections, so that the 10% reservation introduced by the 103rd Constitutional Amendment can be claimed. Chandigarh's issuing officer is the Tehsildar (Revenue) working under the Deputy Commissioner's Office, and the certificate is written on the standard central proforma titled "Income & Assets Certificate to be produced by Economically Weaker Sections".

Chandigarh is a small Union Territory with a single district, and the certificate follows the format used across the country: a certificate number, a date, the financial year for which it is valid, the applicant's permanent address down to village or street, post office, district, State or Union Territory and PIN code, a box for a recent passport-size attested photograph, and the signature and seal of the issuing officer.

Two things about Chandigarh trip people up. First, the Union Territory's e-District portal at chdservices.gov.in, which has run the income certificate service since 7 August 2015, and also runs residence or domicile, dependent and marriage registration services, does not carry a separate online EWS certificate service. Second, the income certificate that portal issues is a different document from the EWS certificate, and cannot be substituted for it.

Who can and who cannot apply in Chandigarh?

You can apply in Chandigarh if you are a resident of the Union Territory, your family's gross annual income is below Rs 8 lakh for the financial year from all sources taken together, and your family owns none of the excluded assets. "Family" here means the applicant, the applicant's parents, siblings below 18 years of age, spouse, and children below 18 years of age.

You cannot apply if your caste is recognised as Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Other Backward Class in the Central list. The EWS quota was created precisely for people outside those three groups, and the Chandigarh proforma requires the officer to certify that the applicant's caste is not recognised under any of them. You are also not eligible, however low your income, if your family owns or possesses:

• 5 acres of agricultural land or more;
• a residential flat of 1,000 sq ft or more;
• a residential plot of 100 sq yards or more in a notified municipality;
• a residential plot of 200 sq yards or more in an area other than a notified municipality.

The proforma adds a third note that matters in a city where families often hold a flat in Chandigarh and land in a neighbouring state: property held by the family in different locations or different places or cities is clubbed while applying the land or property holding test.

What documents are required in Chandigarh?

• Photo identity proof — Aadhaar or the e-Aadhaar letter, Election Commission photo identity card, driving licence or passport, which are the identity documents the Deputy Commissioner's Office accepts for its revenue services.
• Proof of residence in Chandigarh, since the certificate records the applicant as a permanent resident of a stated Chandigarh address.
• Income proof for the whole family from every source, salary certificate or Form 16, income tax return where one is filed, and a declaration of business, professional and agricultural income.
• Property and land details for every location the family holds property in, not only Chandigarh.
• A self-declaration or affidavit of total family income and of the family's land and property holdings.
• A recent passport-size attested photograph for the box on the face of the certificate.

How to get an EWS certificate in Chandigarh

1. Assemble the income and property record for the whole family first. Add salary, agricultural income, business income and professional income for the financial year, and list every plot, flat and parcel of agricultural land the family holds anywhere in India. The clubbing rule means an out-of-state holding still counts.
2. Take the papers to the Deputy Commissioner's Office, Sector 17, Chandigarh, and ask specifically for the Income and Assets Certificate for Economically Weaker Sections. Do not accept the plain income certificate as a substitute, the two serve different purposes and admission and recruitment portals reject the wrong one.
3. Submit the completed proforma with the attested photograph, identity proof, residence proof, income proof, property details and affidavit, and pay only the government fee displayed for the service. Collect the receipt or acknowledgement.
4. Allow time for revenue verification. The Tehsildar (Revenue) verifies income and property before signing, and the verification is the reason the certificate is not issued across the counter.
5. Collect the signed certificate and check the certificate number, the date, the financial year for which it is valid, and the spelling of your name and address against your other documents before you leave the counter.

How do you check the status of a Chandigarh application?

Keep the acknowledgement or receipt number issued at the Deputy Commissioner's Office and follow up at the same counter. For its e-District services, the Chandigarh Administration also publishes delivery performance on chdservices.gov.in, so applicants who have filed an income certificate alongside can track that file online. If an EWS file stalls, take the acknowledgement to the Deputy Commissioner's public grievance counter and ask for the verification report.

Why are Chandigarh EWS applications rejected?

• The applicant's caste is recognised as SC, ST or OBC in the Central list, which puts them outside the EWS scheme.
• Family income crosses Rs 8 lakh once every source is added together.
• Agricultural land held in Chandigarh plus land held in another state adds up to 5 acres or more after clubbing.
• The family's flat measures 1,000 sq ft or more, or the residential plot crosses the 100 or 200 sq yard limit.
• The certificate was issued for the wrong financial year, or an old year's certificate has been reused.
• The applicant is not a resident of the Union Territory.

What about EWS admission in Chandigarh Administration institutions?

Chandigarh Administration institutions such as Chandigarh College of Engineering and Technology and the Chandigarh College of Architecture run two separate EWS-labelled categories, and confusing them costs seats. General-EWS covers 10% of the intake, is meant for EWS candidates not covered by the SC, ST or BC categories, and requires the candidate to upload the Income and Assets Certificate described in this guide. EWS under the Tuition Fee Waiver Scheme covers a further 5% of the intake and requires an affidavit and a family income certificate instead. Read the prospectus carefully and get the right document for the right column.

What does it cost, and what about agents?

The Chandigarh EWS certificate costs only the government fee the Deputy Commissioner's Office lists for the service. Nobody at the counter is entitled to a rupee beyond that. Agents offering to "arrange" an EWS certificate quickly are offering nothing you cannot file yourself, and an EWS claim built on a hidden property or an understated income is dangerous rather than clever: under the central rules an appointment made on an EWS claim is provisional until the appointing authority verifies the certificate with the issuing officer, and a false claim leads to termination of service. Report any demand for money to the Deputy Commissioner's grievance cell and keep your fee receipt.