Chandigarh, November 28:- Haryana's Financial Commissioner, Revenue and Disaster Management and State Nodal Officer for Census 2027, Dr. Sumita Mishra today announced that the upcoming Census 2027 will be conducted in a completely digital mode. This step is a historic change in the direction of making the census process modern, transparent and technology-based.
Dr. Mishra said that the enumerators and observers will collect data digitally through a mobile app and it will be uploaded directly to the central server. The mobile application, portal and other digital tools of the census will be available on both Android and iOS platforms and are being developed in Hindi, English and 14 regional languages.
Dr. Sumita Mishra has appointed all Divisional Commissioners as Divisional Census Officers, all Deputy Commissioners/District Magistrates as Principal Census Officers, who will oversee the entire process within their respective jurisdictions.
In addition, Additional Deputy Commissioners, Additional District Magistrates and Senior Deputy Collectors have been appointed as District Census Officers. This administrative structure has been extended to the sub-divisional and block levels, so that complete coverage can be ensured in every rural cluster and tehsil.
She said that at the sub-divisional level, Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) will work as Sub-Divisional Census Officers. At the lower levels, Tehsildars, Block Development Officers (BDOs) and equivalent officers have been appointed as Census Officers-in-Charge.
Apart from this, Naib Tehsildar will be the Additional Charge Census Officer. Officers from key departments like Planning, Statistics, Information Technology and Education have been appointed as Additional/Sub District Census Officers. Their main responsibility will be to provide technical support, data verification and logistics coordination during field work.
Dr Mishra further said that in urban areas, Municipal Commissioner and Administrative Head-Principal Census Officers, CEOs of various urban corporations and Secretary-in-Charge Census Officers have been appointed.
The government has established special protocols for those areas which are fully under the control of military, paramilitary and other defence organisations (like Defence Services, CRPF, BSF etc.). The determination of Special Charge Officer for these special areas will be done by the Director of Census Operations (DCO) in consultation with the concerned authorities.
It is to be noted that Cantonment Board areas will be treated as statutory towns, while Special Defence/Paramilitary Areas will be separate from them. The City Magistrate and Municipal Commissioner will identify these special areas, send the list to the DCO and ensure all necessary arrangements for conducting the Population Census (Phase-II).
Apart from military areas, special provisions have also been made for colonies falling under the Government or Public Sector like Railways, Irrigation, Forest Department, Thermal Power Station etc. It is necessary for the Principal Census Officer to identify all such special areas. Enumerators and observers will be the mainstays of the data collection process. An enumerator will be allotted an average population of 700-800. One observer will be posted for every six enumerators, along with an additional reserve of 10%.
As per Rule 3 of the Census Rules, 1990, teachers, clerks and other state government/local corporation employees can be appointed as enumerators, while higher officers will usually be the inspectors.
The upcoming census is being seen as a major shift towards digital governance. In which real-time monitoring and secure data collection are at the core. All the appointed officers have been given strict instructions to register on the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) portal.
This registration will include essential information like mobile number, email address, office location and identity documents, which will ensure secure and paperless operations across the state.
Sharing the vision of the state, Dr. Mishra said that this exercise is a big leap towards digital governance. Haryana is fully committed to achieving 100% digital coverage and empowering citizens with secure and effective self-enumeration facilities.
He said that training programmes for enumerators and observers across the state will begin early next year. Along with these technical preparations, extensive public awareness campaigns and launch of new mobile applications for digital enumeration are also planned. He said that the district and municipal administrations have been directed to maintain constant coordination for the smooth conduct of the census in rural, urban and special administrative areas.