Census 2011 begins today
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, MARCH 31
Census 2011 operations will get underway on April 1 in Goa, as in other parts of the country, as enumerators will for the first time seek details regarding mobile phones, computer/ laptop and usage of banking services.
These are among the 40 questions listed by the central government for the gigantic exercise which is conducted every 10 years.
More than 3500 government employees have been engaged for the massive exercise which will continue for 45 days in the state covering around 15 lakh population.
The machinery is fully geared for conducting the census, Ashok Wasnik, Director Census Operations, Goa, told Herald today.
There are also questions on the material used for floor, wall and roof of the census house. Information will also be gathered on the main source of water and waste water outlet, bathing facility and type of latrine in the house.
These are in addition to the routine questions on demography, sex, couples living in the census house, possessing car, two-wheelers, fuel used for cooking, etc
PTI adds: The largest census exercise ever to be attempted in the history of mankind will cover India’s 1.2 billion population in one single database.
The Rs 2,200 crore 2011 National Census project, in which President Pratibha Patil will be the first person to be enumerated, will see engagement of 2.5 million people who will ensure that every citizen of the country comes under it.
The government made it clear that no information will be collected on castes as no caste-based census has ever been conducted in independent India.
To create a comprehensive identity database in the country, the government will attempt to identify every member of its 1.2 billion population in 35 states and Union territories in the census in perhaps its most ambitious national project.
It will also obtain finger prints and photographs which will help government formulate plans and strengthen the country’s security.
After completion of the exercise, a National Population Register (NPR) will be created in which the government will have the entire population of the country under one database.
“Once the NPR is completed we will have the photographs of the entire population. First time we will be able to have specific information about the entire usual residents of the country,” Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai said.
Once the NPR is completed, the government will give a unique number to each resident, he said.
The census operation would cost around Rs 2209 crore while the approved cost of the scheme for creation of NPR is Rs 3539.24 crore.
This is for the first time that NPR is being prepared. The database will be built, maintained and updated by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
Census 2011 will be conducted in two phases. The first phase, called the Houselisting and Housing Census, will be conducted between April and July, depending on the convenience of different States/UTs.
This operation is to be conducted over a period of 45 days in each state/UT. Thus a state starting on April 1 will finish on the May 15 and so on. The details required for creating the NPR will also be canvassed during this phase.
The second phase, called the Population Enumeration phase, will be conducted simultaneously all over the country from February 9 to 28, 2011.
The census would cover all 640 districts, 5,767 tehsils, 7,742 towns and more than 6 lakhs villages. More than 24 crore households will be visited and 1.20 billion people enumerated during this exercise.
