Srinagar, Jul 09: The first phase of Census 2027, comprising House Listing Operations (HLO), has been successfully completed across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, marking a significant milestone with 100 per cent digital data collection across 24,071 House Listing Blocks covering 295 Census Charges.
The achievement was highlighted during the 5th Meeting of the Union Territory Level Census Coordination Committee (UTLCCC), chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, wherein Chief Principal Census Officer and Director, Directorate of Census Operations, J&K and Ladakh, Amit Sharma, presented a comprehensive review of the field operations and outlined the roadmap for upcoming phases.
Amit Sharma informed that the month-long House Listing Operations were conducted successfully from June 1 to June 30, 2026, with 100 percent digital data collection, making the entire exercise paperless and technology-driven. The field operations were completed smoothly across all districts without any major technical impediments, reflecting the robustness of the digital Census ecosystem.
A massive capacity-building programme preceded the field operations, wherein 30 Master Trainers, 614 Field Trainers, and 29,269 Enumerators and Supervisors were trained through 813 structured training batches. More than 27,000 digital Census kits were distributed across the Union Territory, while special emphasis was laid on ensuring comprehensive coverage of migratory and other difficult-to-reach populations.
The Chief Secretary appreciated the dedicated efforts of the Directorate of Census Operations, district administrations, and thousands of field functionaries for successfully completing the first phase within the stipulated timeframe. He emphasized the importance of maintaining the same momentum during forthcoming Census activities and directed timely disbursement of honorarium to Enumerators, Supervisors, and other field functionaries, with payments to be released expeditiously within this month.
The meeting was informed that preparations would now commence for the creation of District Census Handbooks (DCHB), with field work to be culminated by October 2026. The Population Enumeration (Phase-II) in snow-bound and inaccessible areas is scheduled for September 2026, with training programmes for Administrative Officers, Charge Officers, Field Trainers, Enumerators, and Supervisors to be completed by the end of August.
Based on detailed field assessment, the number of notified snow-bound areas has increased substantially for Census 2027. A total of 1,103 villages and three municipal areas across sixteen districts have been identified for advance Population Enumeration, compared to 546 villages during Census 2011, ensuring better coverage of remote and inaccessible habitations before the onset of winters.
The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary H&UDD, Commissioner Secretary Education, DG Planning, and other senior officers from the Department of Census Operations. The Chief Secretary called upon all stakeholder departments to continue extending full cooperation for timely and successful completion of the remaining phases of Census 2027.
