Amit urges citizens to cooperate with enumerators as house listing operations begin
JAMMU, Jun 1: With the formal commencement of House Listing Operations (HLO) under Census 2027 across the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh from today, Amit Sharma, Chief Principal Census Officer and Director Census Operations, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, on Monday appealed to all residents to extend full cooperation to Enumerators and Supervisors visiting households during the month-long Census exercise.
Addressing the media, Amit Sharma described the response to the recently concluded Self-Enumeration phase as highly encouraging and reflective of growing public participation in India’s first fully digital and paperless Census exercise. He informed that a total of 6,67,517 households in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and 7,009 households in the Union Territory of Ladakh successfully completed their Self-Enumeration through the official portal before the commencement of House Listing Operations.
The press meet was jointly addressed by Amit Sharma and Neha Jalali, Director, Press Information Bureau (PIB), Jammu. Zakir Nazeer, Media and Communication Officer, PIB, and Manmeet Singh Loomba, Deputy Chief Principal Census Officer were also present on the occassion.
Amit noted that enthusiastic participation was witnessed across all districts of Jammu & Kashmir, with districts such as Pulwama, Jammu and Kulgam recording particularly encouraging responses. He also appreciated the participation of citizens from Leh and Kargil districts in Ladakh and thanked the district administrations, Principal Census Officers, field functionaries, media organisations and citizens for contributing to the successful conduct of the Self-Enumeration phase.
Highlighting the scale of preparations undertaken for Census 2027, Amit informed that House Listing Block demarcation and geo-tagging activities have been virtually completed across both Union Territories with more than 23,600 House Listing Blocks demarcated in Jammu & Kashmir and 567 House Listing Blocks demarcated in Ladakh. Similarly, extensive training programmes have been completed for Master Trainers, Field Trainers, Enumerators and Supervisors to ensure professional and uniform conduct of Census operations across all districts and remote areas.
He further informed that more than 27,000 Census kits have already been dispatched across Jammu & Kashmir and around 800 kits distributed in Ladakh, ensuring that field functionaries are fully equipped for the commencement of House Listing Operations.
Calling upon citizens to cooperate fully with Enumerators and Supervisors, Amit stated that House Listing Operations constitute a critical phase of Census 2027 during which information relating to housing stock, household amenities and living conditions will be collected.
He urged residents to provide accurate, complete and truthful information to Census officials, emphasizing that reliable Census data forms the basis for planning and implementation of welfare schemes, healthcare services, educational infrastructure, urban development initiatives and various socio-economic programmes.
Amit Sharma also reassured citizens that all information collected during Census operations remains completely confidential under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948, and is used exclusively for statistical purposes. He clarified that individual information is protected by law and cannot be shared with any agency or institution.
Speaking on the occasion, Neha Jalali, Director, PIB Jammu, highlighted the importance of public awareness and media participation in ensuring successful conduct of Census operations. She appreciated the extensive outreach activities being undertaken across the two Union Territories and called upon media organisations to continue supporting dissemination of authentic information relating to Census 2027.
The Chief Principal Census Officer further informed that special arrangements have been put in place for coverage of remote, border, tribal, migratory and nomadic populations so that no household or individual is left out of the Census exercise. He reiterated that Census 2027 is not merely a data collection exercise but a national endeavour that will shape future planning and development priorities for years to come.
Appealing for active public participation, Amit urged all residents of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh to welcome Enumerators and Supervisors, cooperate during household visits and contribute towards the successful conduct of Census 2027, one of the largest administrative exercises being undertaken in the country.