Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary reviews Census 2027 preparedness

SRINAGAR, MAY 11: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo chaired the third UT Level Census Coordination Committee meeting today to evaluate the readiness for the upcoming Self-Enumeration and House Listing phases of Census 2027.

During the session, he called for rigorous training of over 27,000 enumerators and supervisors to ensure high standards of data accuracy. He emphasized that the demarcation of House Listing Blocks must be finalized immediately to prevent any gaps in the enumeration process, specifically focusing on seamless ground-level execution across all districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting highlighted that self-enumeration is scheduled to begin on May 17, 2026, starting with VVIPs to encourage wider public participation. To support this, a 15-day thematic outreach calendar has been developed to engage various sectors of society, including educational institutions, youth groups, and Panchayati Raj Institutions.

The Chief Secretary directed departments to utilize diverse media channels and local languages such as Urdu, Dogri, and Gojri to raise awareness.

Common Service Centres and local bodies will also be involved to facilitate free self-enumeration for citizens, aiming for total inclusive coverage.Additional Chief Secretary Finance Shailendra Kumar noted the sensitivity of the exercise, stressing that no household in remote or hilly areas should be overlooked.

Director of Census Operations Amit Sharma confirmed that the training for field trainers is largely complete and the appointment of nearly 24,000 field functionaries is underway via the Census Management and Monitoring System portal.

While administrative boundaries were frozen in late 2025, officials are working with the Registrar General of India to resolve minor updates in locality names and administrative units to ensure the database is perfectly aligned before the house-listing phase begins.