Nagpur: Around 3,500 citizens under the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) completed self-enumeration on the very first day of the 15-day digital census drive, signalling a modest but encouraging start to the nationwide exercise. The self-enumeration phase, which began on May 1, will continue until May 15, after which door-to-door enumeration will be carried out from May 16 to June 14 using the HLO (house listing operation) mobile application.
Officials Urge Participation
Deputy municipal commissioner Nirbhay Jain appealed to citizens to actively participate in the self-enumeration process to ease the workload during the physical survey phase and ensure accurate data collection. Marking the launch, Union minister Nitin Gadkari and mayor Neeta Thakre participated in the self-enumeration process and urged residents to contribute to what they termed a crucial national exercise. Several senior officials, including civic chief Vipin Itankar, additional commissioner Ankit, and zone chairpersons, also completed their enumeration digitally.
Digital Census Features
The 16th national Census is being conducted entirely in digital mode for the first time, with an emphasis on citizen participation through online self-reporting. Officials said the portal allows residents to fill in details in 16 languages, making it more accessible. As per the 2011 Census, Nagpur had a population of over 24 lakh. For the current exercise, around 4,500 enumerators and 700 supervisors have been deployed across the city. Each enumerator is tasked with collecting data of approximately 800 residents during the field survey phase.
Citizens can log on to the official Census portal and complete the process using mobile phones or computers. Upon submission, an 11-digit self-enumeration (SE) ID is generated, which must be preserved and shown to enumerators during their visit. The questionnaire includes 33 parameters covering housing conditions, family details, and access to basic amenities such as drinking water, sanitation, electricity and cooking fuel.
Streamlining Data Collection
Civic officials stressed that higher participation in the self-enumeration phase will significantly streamline the upcoming house-to-house exercise and improve the accuracy of urban data crucial for planning and development. Meanwhile, Maharashtra recorded a strong opening to the digital census exercise, with 82,685 self-enumeration entries completed on May 1 under the House Listing Operation (HLO), out of a total 1,10,371 records across 36 districts. The data reveals a largely uniform response across the state, with most districts clustering in the 70-76% completion range, indicating steady citizen participation on day one of the 15-day self-enumeration window.
