Census 2027: Noida Administration Cracks Down on Absentee Enumerators
The Gautam Budh Nagar district administration has formally requested the police to register First Information Reports (FIRs) against 86 enumerators deployed for the Census 2027 exercise. These individuals allegedly failed to collect their duty orders or cooperate with the enumeration process, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Out of nearly 3,000 employees assigned as enumerators across the district, 39 were identified as absentees in Noida, 44 in Greater Noida, and the remaining few in the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) area. Authorities stated that repeated attempts were made to contact them via phone, and their duty assignments were also shared through WhatsApp. However, despite the deadline having passed, they neither collected the official documents nor reported for work.
District Magistrate Medha Roopam emphasized that the responsibility for completing the Census house listing exercise lies with the three development authorities in Gautam Budh Nagar. “I have asked for the list of enumerators who have not been turning up and called for action to be taken against them,” Roopam said. She added that all assigned personnel had been trained and sensitized before the exercise commenced. June 20 is the final deadline for completing the enumeration exercise.
Indu Prakash Singh, the charge officer for Noida, wrote to the Noida Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) requesting FIRs against the defaulters. He noted that the enumerators had been duly informed of their assignments but refused to collect duty-related documents or cooperate in this national-level exercise. Similarly, the charge officer for Greater Noida sent a comparable letter to the DCP. The administration has warned that enumerators who have yet to start work must immediately collect their orders and complete their assignments; otherwise, similar legal action will be initiated.
This crackdown is not without precedent in the district. During the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in November 2025, the District Magistrate ordered the withholding of salaries for three electoral registration officers and 12 assistant electoral registration officers after the exercise failed to begin on schedule in several areas. Subsequently, she recommended FIRs against 130 booth-level officers (BLOs) and 13 supervisors for dereliction of duty. Further reviews led to departmental inquiries against 93 BLOs and 27 supervisors found absent or negligent during field verification. FIRs were later ordered against additional BLOs who allegedly failed to distribute or collect forms despite repeated instructions.
Census 2027 marks the first census conducted in India since 2011, as the 2021 exercise was deferred indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The house-listing and housing Census phase, which precedes the population enumeration round, is currently underway across the country.
