Amit Sharma reviews Census-2027 operations in Pulwama

• Appreciates district's top performance in self-enumeration phase; stresses accuracy, inclusiveness and confidentiality of census data

PULWAMA: Chief Principal Census Officer (CPCO) and Director Census Operations (DCO), Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Amit Sharma today chaired a comprehensive review meeting at Circuit House Pulwama to assess the progress of the ongoing House Listing and Housing Census Operations (HLO).

At the outset, Deputy Commissioner Pulwama, Dr. Basharat Qayoom, who is also the Principal Census Officer,  highlighted the efforts of the district administration towards ensuring the smooth, accurate and timely conduct of Census-2027.

During the meeting, Additional Deputy Commissioner Pulwama, who is also the District Census Officer, presented a detailed presentation highlighting the district's progress under Census-2027. The presentation covered the progress under the self-enumeration phase and HLO, awareness and IEC campaigns undertaken across the district, training imparted to census functionaries, creation and demarcation of House Listing Blocks (HLBs), status of field operations, arrangements for the inclusion of migratory populations, measures adopted for snow-bound and remote areas, and monitoring mechanisms put in place to ensure quality data collection and comprehensive household coverage.

Addressing the meeting, the CPCO appreciated the efforts of census functionaries and congratulated the district administration for its outstanding performance during the self-enumeration phase. He directed the census staff to maintain the same momentum during the ongoing House Listing and Housing Census operations while ensuring the highest standards of accuracy, transparency and confidentiality.

He emphasized that the Census is one of the most important national exercises and serves as the foundation for future planning, policy formulation, infrastructure development, welfare programmes and equitable allocation of resources. To enhance public confidence and awareness regarding the census exercise, Sharma directed supervisors and enumerators to properly identify themselves during field visits and proactively educate people about the significance of Census-2027.

Reviewing the progress of the ongoing House Listing and Housing Census operations, the Director expressed satisfaction over the progress achieved so far and called upon all concerned officers to ensure complete coverage of households. He stressed the need for maintaining data quality and directed Charge Officers to undertake regular field inspections while ensuring uniform quality checks by supervisors. He also called for intensified monitoring and strict adherence to census guidelines and operational instructions.

Emphasising inclusive coverage, he directed officials to ensure the proper enumeration of migratory populations and tribal communities so that no household or individual is left out of the census exercise.

On the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Pulwama informed the meeting that the district administration is conducting the census exercise with a zero-error approach and has put in place robust monitoring mechanisms to ensure the accuracy and completeness of data collection. He directed all field functionaries to work in close coordination, maintain professionalism and adhere strictly to prescribed protocols. He further assured full administrative support to census teams and emphasized the timely resolution of any operational issues arising during field activities.

The meeting concluded with an interactive question-and-answer session during which supervisors, enumerators and field officials raised various operational queries that were addressed by the Director Census Operations and senior officers.

Among others, the meeting was attended by Additional Deputy Commissioners of Tral and Awantipora, Joint Chief Principal Census Officer, Charge Officers, district and sectoral officers, supervisors, enumerators and other concerned officials.