Census in city to begin from April 15

Officials of the Census department will collect information like name,sex,caste,occupation and assets,including movable and immovable assets like transistors,mobile phones,computers,internet access and material used on walls and roof.

In a new feature introduced this time,photographs and fingerprints of every citizen above the age of 15 years would be collected.

The Population Census,2011,seventh after the Independence,will continue till May 31.

Punjab and Haryana Governors will be the first citizens in the city whose information will be recorded by census officials on April 15.

A team of officials led by Director Census Operations,Bindhyeshwari Negi,and senior officials of the Chandigarh Administration will record information about the two governors.

For census in Chandigarh,the city has been divided into 26 wards,excluding the rural areas. A total of 3,146 officials will carry out the task of collecting and compiling information.

Teams of census officials,comprising Centre,state and UT employees,will conduct a door-to-door survey to gather the requisite information.

“All residents are appealed to cooperate. The census is a decadal exercise,which is administered by the Central Government and executed by the state governments. The data collected for each individual is kept confidential and the compiled data is used to formulate government policies,” a senior Census department official said.

For the first time,a National Population Register (NPR) will be created from the census data.

“NPR will be a comprehensive identity database,which will strengthen the security of the country and improve planning of government schemes. It will help in identifying citizens of the country. Based on the NPR data,national identity cards will be issued to citizens,” another census official said.

These days,officials are undergoing training to carry out the operation.

As many as 63 master trainers,comprising lecturers and assistant professors,have been trained by the Census Directorate. These master trainers form the core training team in Chandigarh and will train enumerators and supervisors drawn from various schools,colleges and government departments.

The first phase of training started on Monday in which enumerators and supervisors will be trained for three days in batches of 50. The next phase will be held from April 10 to 12.

The census will comprise two categories — ‘Houselisting’ and NPR. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGI) Dr C Chandramouli held meeting with UT officials on March 25 in this regard.

What if…
The census officials don’t visit my house?
The local tehsildar/ward officer of your area is the designated officer. If needed,one could also contact the Collector/Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate or the Commissioner. One can also intimate the Census department.

The enumerator asks for documents?
You are not required to show any documents to the enumerator. But false information can invite penalties under the Census and Citizenship Acts.

Will they issue an identity card?
The National Population Register (NPR) is introduced in order to have data about every citizen of the country. The biometric data and unique identification number of every person above 15 years of age will be recorded. The ID cards will be given in a phased manner by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.

What is the link between NPR and Unique ID Authority of India (UIDAI)?
The data collected in the NPR will be tallied with UIDAI. After a thorough scrutiny,the UIDAI will issue a UID number. The NPR cards will bear this number.

Questions they will ask
Material of the floor,wall and roof of the building
Use of the building/condition of house
Number of persons normally residing in the house
Name,caste and sex of the head of the house
Ownership status of the house
Number of dwelling rooms in the house
Number of married couples in the house
Source of drinking water/availability of drinking water
Source of lighting
Availability of toilets in the premises
Waste water outlet connections
Availability of washrooms in the premises
Availability of kitchen/fuel used for cooking
Assets like radio,transistor,television,computer,internet access,telephones,mobile phones,bicycle,scooter,motor cycle,moped,car,van,jeep etc.
If availing bank services
Information needed for the National Population Register
Full name
Sex
Date of birth
Marital status
Educational qualification
Occupational activity
Place of birth
Nationality
Present address
Permanent residential address