Pune: The state has successfully completed the first phase of Census 2027 — the House Listing and Housing Census — with approximately 2.45 lakh personnel covering more than 2.2 lakh enumeration blocks and collecting household data through a cellphone application, state census officials announced on Monday.
The exercise, conducted from May 16 to June 14, covered all 36 districts and 29 municipal corporations. Enumerators visited households and recorded responses to 33 questions notified by the Union government, pertaining to housing conditions, household amenities, and assets.
Timely Completion and Repeated Visits
State Directorate of Census Operations officials confirmed that the field exercise was completed within the stipulated timeline, with most work concluding by Saturday. Enumerators often made repeated visits to locked households to ensure comprehensive coverage.
“The enumerators would visit households in the morning and evening and, in many cases, made multiple visits where homes were locked. For the 2.20 lakh house-listing blocks created across the state, each group had six enumerators supervised by a supervisor, covering a population of at least 800,” an official stated.
Extensive Deployment of Personnel
The administration deployed 63 principal census officers, comprising 34 district collectors and 29 municipal commissioners, along with 947 charge officers, 141 master trainers, 3,850 field trainers, and around 2.45 lakh enumerators and supervisors. A total of 2,20,514 house-listing blocks were created and assigned to enumerators for systematic coverage. One supervisor monitored every group of six enumerators to facilitate smooth field operations.
Data Collection and Confidentiality
Officials noted that the exercise generated data on housing conditions, availability of household amenities, and asset ownership, establishing the framework for the population enumeration phase scheduled for February 2027. The groundwork laid during this first phase is expected to ensure complete coverage of the population in the next stage of the Census.
The directorate reiterated that all personal information collected during the exercise is protected under the provisions of the Census Act and will remain strictly confidential.
Legal Framework and Future Plans
Conducted under the Census Act, 1948, and the Census Rules, 1990, Census 2027 will be the 16th Census of India and the eighth since Independence. The Centre had notified its intention to conduct the Census on June 16, 2025. The reference date for Population Enumeration will be 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027.
No Extension Required
Enumerators informed TOI that they could complete the drive and submit their reports despite hiccups regarding data uploading. “All enumerators have uploaded the data, but some supervisors have been given a grace period of one or two days to sync the data. It is usual,” a senior official said. Unlike some previous census drives, this exercise did not require any extension, they added.
