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.

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“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.