Bhubaneswar: Odisha has become one of the first states in the country to initiate the process of updating the National Population Register (NPR). Even as the unrest over the implementation of the amended citizenship law continues throughout the country, the Odisha government has begun the exercise with the launch of a pilot survey.
“As per instructions of the Registrar General of India, the NPR exercise has begun. A pilot survey has been carried out in parts of the state, while door-to-door survey and houselisting for Census 2021 will be taken up mid-April,” said an official.
The format this time will be different from that of 2010 when NPR was last updated. The official said the number of fields on the registration form had been increased and several questions rephrased. This time, every applicant will have to furnish Aadhaar number, mobile number, voter ID and driving license.
“In 2010, people were asked by NPR enumerators to provide names of father, mother and spouse, while also stating if they were alive. This time, people will have to provide date, place of birth of parents, mother tongue and other relevant details if born outside the country,” the official said. According to sources, ‘master trainers’ have been given necessary lessons for undertaking the exercise.
Dispelling the notion that NPR and the NRC are connected, state BJP leader Samir Mohanty on Tuesday said it was necessary to update the population register for proper distribution of welfare scheme benefits. It may be noted that the Union Cabinet had given its go-ahead for Census 2021and NPR updation last month.
What is new this time?
Here are a few of the 31 questions that will be asked:
- How many toilets, TVs, Internet connections, vehicles are there in the house?
- What is the source of drinking water in the house?
- What is the mobile number of the head of the family?
- Does the head of the household belong to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or Other category?
- What is the ownership status of the census house, number of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of the household, number of married couple(s) living in the household?
- What is the main cereal consumed in the household.
- What is the building number (municipal or local authority or census number), census house number, predominant material of the floor, wall and roof of the census house, use of census house, condition of the census house, household number, total number of persons normally residing in the household, name of the head of the household and the person’s sex?
- What is the main source of lighting? Does the family have access to a toilet, the type of toilet, wastewater outlet, availability of bathing facility, availability of kitchen and LPG/PNG connection and what is the main fuel used for cooking?
The Modi-regime is targeting September 2020 to update the NPR, which is a list of usual residents of the country.
The census exercise will begin on April 1 this year and end on September 30. It will have its reference date as March 1, 2021, but for snow-bound Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand it will be October 1, 2020.
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