Bhubaneswar: The state govt has begun extensive preparations to ensure smooth and timely conduct of Census 2027, with clear directives issued to all departments and district administrations. Additional chief secretary, revenue and disaster management, Arabinda Padhee, wrote to departmental secretaries, heads of departments, district collectors, municipal corporation commissioners and chief census officers, outlining the roadmap for the upcoming exercise. The census will be conducted digitally in two phases. The House Listing and Housing Census will take place from April 16 to May 15, 2026, while a self-enumeration window will be available from April 1 to 15, 2026. The population enumeration phase is scheduled for Feb 2027. To ensure uninterrupted operations, the state govt has imposed a strict ban on transfers of officers and staff deployed for census duties. Master trainers and field trainers will not be transferred until the census work concludes in March 2027, while any transfer of supervisors and enumerators will require prior approval of the concerned district chief census officer.
