Census 2027: Self-enumeration kicks off in West Bengal
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Kolkata: The self-enumeration process for Census 2027 began in West Bengal on Saturday and will continue for 15 days until August 15, allowing residents to submit their details online through a dedicated government portal.
Citizens can complete the self-enumeration process by logging on to the dedicated website, https:/se.census.gov.in, and filling in the mandatory fields seeking the required information.
Once the details are successfully entered and the form is submitted, the website will generate an 11-digit self-enumeration ID. Individuals will have to retain the ID and subsequently share it with enumerators who visit their homes for verification.
According to the website, self-enumeration is intended to ensure greater accuracy, as individuals will enter their own information.
However, residents will not be required to upload or submit supporting documents while completing the self-enumeration form. The documents will also not be required when enumerators later visit households for verification, confirmed Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Commissioner Smita Pandey, who is also the principal census officer for the entire KMC jurisdiction.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the Census 2027 exercise had begun late in the state due to what he described as the "lackadaisical approach" of the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Cabinet.
"The Union Government sent a communique to the previous state government in February last year to begin the process. But the previous state Cabinet did not act on that communique," Adhikari said.
He alleged that the previous state government did not respond to the Centre's communication or initiate the process due to "narrow political reasons", adding that the then Chief Secretary had been waiting for political consensus on the issue.
"Since the previous government did not do anything in the matter, the West Bengal government is lagging behind other states on this count," Adhikari told media persons after an emergency meeting on the issue at the state secretariat, Nabanna, on Friday.
He also said the census exercise this time would be conducted digitally, with census officials collecting data on mobile phones through a dedicated app that will be launched for the purpose.
The data collected by officials will subsequently be uploaded to a central server through the app.
With IANS inputs