Kolkata: The first phase of Census — focusing on houselisting operations and housing amenities—formally came to an end on Monday as officials estimated more than 90% of all the houses in the state have been visited and enlisted by enumerators.“As per our estimate more than 90% of the houselisting process has been completed. We will get a complete picture by early on Tuesday after which we will be able to publish the complete data,” said a senior official of Census Directorate in West Bengal.While 1.7 lakh field enumerators fanned across urban and rural wards to log dwelling structures, officials have moved swiftly to allay fears among citizens whose households were missed during this 30-day window.TOI had written on Monday that households that could not be covered in the first phase, will however be covered in the second phase.Officials from the Directorate of Census Operations confirmed that enumerators covered nearly all identified households. In Kolkata alone, where around 13 lakh residential units were surveyed, teams mobilized via handheld tablets and mobile applications to complete digital forms.Clarifying the scope of the exercise, officials reiterated that Phase 1 was strictly confined to mapping housing conditions and physical infrastructure.“Households were surveyed on basic amenities, including access to drinking water, toilet facilities, cooking fuel, electricity, internet connectivity, and building materials included in the 33-point questionnaire,“ the official said.The second and most critical leg—the Population Enumeration phase—will take place nationwide in Feb 2027. During this second phase, comprehensive demographic, socio-economic, linguistic, literacy, occupational, and caste-related data will be collected for every individual.
