Census is foundation of development planning: Tripura CM
Agartala, July 17
Describing the Census as much more than a statistical exercise, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday said it forms one of the key foundations for planning and implementing various developmental programmes.
The Chief Minister made the remarks after participating in the self‑enumeration process for the Census of India 2027 from his official residence in Agartala. He personally registered his details online, encouraging people to actively participate in the self‑enumeration process for Census 2027.
Saha said that the self‑enumeration facility has been introduced to make the 2027 Census simpler, more transparent and technology‑driven. He added that this edition of the Census is particularly significant.
Tripura on Friday formally launched the self‑enumeration process for the Census of India 2027 at Lok Bhavan, marking a significant step towards conducting the country's first fully digital Census.
Tripura Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu, as the first citizen of the state, inaugurated the initiative on Friday morning by personally completing the self‑enumeration process on the designated online portal, setting an example for citizens across the state.
Director of Census Operations, Tripura, Ratan Biswas, said that the first phase of the Census exercise, the self‑enumeration process, commenced on Friday and will continue till July 31.
He said the second stage of the first phase, House Listing and House Enumeration, would be conducted from August 1 to August 30 across the state.
During this period, enumerators and supervisors, most of whom are government schoolteachers, will visit every household to collect details of families, residential buildings and other housing‑related information.
Another official said that the second phase of the Census, involving Population Enumeration, would be carried out in February 2027, during which enumerators and supervisors would collect detailed information about every individual, including socio‑economic particulars.
Officials said that the training of thousands of census personnel, including enumerators and supervisors, was completed on Thursday ahead of the nationwide exercise.
Highlighting the importance of Census data in the country's planning and development, Governor Reddy Nallu earlier in the day appealed to the people of the state to actively participate in the exercise and complete their self‑enumeration within the stipulated time.
He said Census data plays a crucial role in policy making, including the establishment of schools and hospitals, planning infrastructure and the reorganisation of constituencies.
The Governor observed that while a village may continue to exist in official records, if its residents fail to participate in the Census, it could effectively be regarded as a village without inhabitants for planning purposes.
He therefore urged every citizen to participate in the Census.
The Governor also assured the public that the highest standards of confidentiality would be maintained while handling Census data.
He said the information collected would be used solely for planning and developmental purposes and would not be shared with any other agency.
— IANS
Reader Comments
I appreciate the move, but I'm a bit skeptical. Many villages in Tripura still don't have reliable internet or even electricity. How will self-enumeration work there? The government should ensure offline options or special arrangements for rural areas. Otherwise, this will just be another urban-centric initiative.
Good to see technology being used to make governance more data-driven. In the US, the Census is a big deal too. I hope this digital approach means faster results and better planning for schools, hospitals, and roads. The Chief Minister and Governor are setting a good example by doing it themselves first.
I'm all for digitalization, but the privacy of census data is a huge concern. The Governor promised confidentiality, but we've seen data leaks before. Also, will this data be used only for planning, or could it be misused for things like Aadhaar linking or targeted surveillance? Need more transparency on data protection.
As a resident of a remote village in Tripura, I'm happy to see the Governor highlighting that villages without census data become 'ghost villages' for planners. But the real challenge is educating people about how to do self-enumeration. Many elders in my village don't even have smartphones. Hope the government provides local help centers.
Totally agree with the CM—census is the foundation of development. Without accurate data, how can we plan for new schools or hospitals in growing areas? But I'm a bit concerned that the self-enumeration window is only from July 17 to July 31. That's very short for people who may not have
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