Hyderabad: With preparations under way for the upcoming Census, Telangana Census operations director Bharati Hollikeri on Saturday urged residents to cooperate with enumerators, stressing that participation in the population and house listing exercise is mandatory under the law and vital for accurate national data.Addressing the media, Hollikeri said the Census is meant to count every person living in the country, and should not be mistaken for a citizen Census. “This Census should not be mistaken for a citizen Census, as it will account for everyone, including foreigners and non-Indians who are temporarily residing in the country. Data of the individuals is not even accessible to Census officials; it is totally kept confidential,” shec said.She explained that the Census follows a structured system of enumeration blocks to ensure that every individual is counted only once, even if they have more than one residence. “We consider where an individual sleeps at night,” she said, noting that the exercise also covers migrant workers, homeless persons and people staying in hostels or other institutions. For instance, a child staying in a hostel will be counted as part of that non-housing institution rather than the family home. Similarly, foreign visitors travelling within India during the Census period will also be counted. At the same time, Indians who are temporarily outside the country or away from their usual place of residence during the enumeration will be given an opportunity to be counted. Fine of Rs 1,000Hollikeri pointed out that under section 8(2) of the Census Act, 1948, every individual is legally required to provide information to enumerators, and failure to do so could attract a fine of ₹1,000. Clarifying doubts about overlapping surveys, she said the teams involved in the census house listing and the Special Intensive Revision exercise are completely separate. “The Census focuses solely on population counts and does not address the citizenship status of residents. It’s purely about the numbers,” she said. She also said that surveys conducted earlier by the Telangana govt under previous administrations are unrelated to the Census, as the Constitution authorises only the central govt to conduct it. “People should not be apprehensive about providing their data, as Census information is not linked to welfare schemes or any other govt decisions. It solely aids the govt in formulating long-term policies at a mass level,” she added.
