Jammu: Director of Census Operations, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Amit Sharma on Tuesday said the Census 2027 exercise was progressing smoothly in the twin Union territories, with population enumeration in snow-bound areas completed and the main enumeration in the remaining areas, including Srinagar and Jammu, scheduled for February.
Sharma, who is also the Chief Principal Census Officer of J&K and Ladakh, said while the house listing operations had been completed in June, the District Census Handbook (DCHB), which began on October 1, will continue till October 30.
“The population enumeration in the snow-bound areas of J&K and Ladakh was successfully completed 100 per cent from September 1 to 30. A five-day revision round was also completed on October 5 to incorporate corrections, omissions and other changes reported after the initial enumeration,” Sharma told reporters here.
He said the detailed population enumeration exercise in the snow-bound areas covered 5,292 enumeration blocks (EB) across the two Union territories. Of these, 4,597 EBs were in Jammu and Kashmir and 695 in Ladakh, reflecting the extensive scale of the exercise undertaken ahead of the winter season.
He said the enumeration involved a large field machinery deployed across remote, difficult and snow-bound areas, with enumerators and supervisors undertaking door-to-door coverage to ensure that every eligible person was included in the Census.
Among the districts, Doda accounted for 798 enumeration blocks, Kishtwar 602, Ramban 418, Anantnag 377, Baramulla 369, Reasi 345, Udhampur 313 and Kupwara 230, Sharma said, highlighting the substantial field exercise involved in covering the snow-bound areas.
He said Ladakh and Kishtwar districts were entirely designated as snow-bound, while several other districts of Jammu and Kashmir had partially snow-bound areas. The remaining plain areas would be covered during the main population enumeration exercise in February, following the requisite notification.
The District Census Handbook exercise, which began on October 1, will continue till October 30, Sharma said.
He said Census 2027 was India’s first fully digital Census, with enumerators using digital devices and citizens being provided the facility of Self-Enumeration.
“Jammu and Kashmir has performed exceptionally well in Self-Enumeration. It ranked first among the Union Territories and eighth overall in the country,” the director census said.
He said the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India had deployed independent observers who visited different parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to assess field-level implementation, verify the use of digital devices and interact with Census officials, supervisors and enumerators.
Sharma said Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan had himself visited several remote and strategically located areas of Ladakh, including Turtuk, Bogdang, Pangong, Chushul, Nyoma, Chumar, Kargil and Zanskar, and reviewed the Census preparedness and field operations.
He said Additional Registrar General Sunil Kumar had also visited Jammu and Kashmir in August to review preparations for the exercise.
On the census coverage principle, Sharma said the exercise followed the “extended de facto” approach, under which a person was counted at the place where he or she was found during the enumeration period.
“Whether it is a migrant labourer, a person working in another state or anyone else present at a particular place during the Census enumeration, the person will be counted where he or she is found,” he said, adding that determination of the legality of a person’s stay was the responsibility of the concerned government agencies and not the Census authorities.
He said the Centre had released around Rs 49.2 crore for census-related requirements in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including IT infrastructure, training, honorarium, and contingency expenditure.
Sharma also highlighted the extensive publicity campaign undertaken to create awareness about the Census, including newspaper advertisements, LED screens, publicity vans, pamphlets, seminars, university programmes, quiz competitions, radio jingles and hoardings.
He said an MoU had also been signed with Jammu and Kashmir Bank for displaying Census-related publicity material at its branches, describing the initiative as a first-of-its-kind arrangement in the country.
He said the main population enumeration in the remaining areas was yet to be conducted and provisional population figures at the national level were expected only after completion of the exercise next year.
The director said the census data would provide the foundation for government planning and policy formulation, including infrastructure, healthcare, education, social welfare, connectivity and other development programmes.
“Census data is the foundation for development planning. The data being collected now will be used for planning and development for years to come and will also contribute to the goal of a developed India by 2047,” Sharma said.
Census 2027: Army, CAPFs covered under special arrangements in J&K, Ladakh
Director of Census Operations, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Amit Sharma on Tuesday said the Army, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and other Central forces had been covered under Census 2027, with population enumeration of Special Charges completed through paper schedules in view of security concerns.
Addressing a press conference here, Sharma said there are 125 special charges in Jammu and Kashmir and 47 in Ladakh, covering the armed forces, paramilitary forces and other central forces.
“Population Enumeration is conducted for special charges, while there is no house listing operation (HLO) for them. Special Charges include the military, paramilitary forces and other Central forces,” Sharma said, announcing that the enumeration exercise was successfully completed.
He said the census authorities had adopted a separate mechanism for special charges because of their distinct operational and security requirements.
“The enumeration for these Special Charges is being conducted through paper schedules. There are security concerns involved, so their information cannot essentially be collected over the internet. Therefore, the paper schedules were printed in a timely manner and the required information was collected through these schedules,” he said.
Sharma said the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, had also held an exclusive meeting with representatives of the special charges during his visit to Ladakh in September and reviewed their preparedness.
“He held an exclusive meeting with the special charges and asked them about their preparations. He also reviewed the arrangements and was very satisfied after interacting with the concerned personnel,” Sharma said.
He said regular meetings were held with the Ministry of Defence, helping streamline the census exercise involving the Army.
“One very positive development this time is that we had regular meetings with the Ministry of Defence. The Army, which has a very large presence among the Special Charges, is directly providing the required data to us,” Sharma said.
He said the arrangement had made the exercise considerably easier as the Army has a vast geographical spread, with battalions and companies deployed at different locations.
“The Army has a central database. After incorporating the required Census fields, they are directly providing the data to us from that database,” he said.
For the 125 special charges in Jammu and Kashmir and 47 in Ladakh, the census activity was completed through paper schedules, Sharma said, adding that any doubts and queries raised during the exercise were addressed in real time.
“Our national trainers were directly overseeing and coordinating the exercise. They were involved in the process until even the last couple of days,” he said.
Sharma said conducting the census for special charges through paper schedules was a detailed exercise involving close coordination with the respective establishments.
“It may sound simple, but coordinating with special charges, providing them with everything required and getting the information collected through paper schedules is a detailed exercise,” he said.
He said the exercise had been successfully concluded across different forces, including the Air Force and other central forces.
The next stage would involve the digitisation of the data collected through paper schedules, Sharma said, adding that the concerned establishments would digitise the information themselves and return it to the Census authorities within the prescribed time-frame.
“Paper records are not acceptable for integration into the census database. Therefore, the concerned establishments will themselves digitise the data and return it to us within the prescribed timeframe. We will then integrate this data with our main census database,” he said.
He said the digitised information would be transmitted through a secure and encrypted mechanism, with fixed formats prescribed for its integration.
“The data will reach us in a very safe and secure, encrypted form. The formats have also been fixed, and our IT division is working on the process,” the director said.
Sharma thanked the officers and personnel associated with the special charges, particularly the paramilitary forces, for their cooperation in completing the census exercise in a timely manner.
“We received complete support from the Special Charges throughout the exercise. I would like to congratulate and thank all the officers working with the special charges, particularly the personnel of the paramilitary forces, for extending their full cooperation in completing this entire activity,” he said.
Sharma clarified that there was some confusion among people between the Census and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), stressing that the two are entirely separate exercises.
“There is some confusion among people regarding SIR and the Census. SIR is conducted by the Election Commission of India, whereas the census is conducted under the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. The census is a decennial exercise and has no connection with the revision of electoral rolls,” he said.
