Gujarat Census 2011

Census 2011 to start tomorrow

AHMEDABAD MIRROR BUREAU


The 15th headcount of India’s population is all set to begin in Gujarat tomorrow. To be carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore, Census 2011 will have nearly 10,000 officials covering 1.40 crore houses across the state. In Census 2001, 1.24 crore houses were covered. In the last 10 year, as many as 16 lakh new houses have been constructed in the state.
Director of census operations, Government of India, Manish Bharadwaj said: “The information will be collected in 45 days. And if a family is out for a vacation, we urge them to give their cellphone details to the neighbours. All the data will be collected over the phone. This is being done for the first time.”
On Thursday, Governor Dr Kamla Beniwal will be the first to be enumerated, as the census process begins at 11 am.
Bharadwaj also released information about the number of villages and towns in the state. In the last 10 years, the number of villages have gone down from 18,539 to 18,027 whereas forest villages have increased from 136 to 164.
The number of inhabited villages have reduced from 18,066 to 17,680 whereas uninhabited villages have dropped from 473 to 347. The towns have increased from 242 to 348.
This is also the first time that the the National Population Register (NPR) programme has been linked to the census exercise. The NPR, a comprehensive identity database, will facilitate the creation of a biometrics-based identity system in the country, allowing identity cards for all citizens.