Odisha To Update National Population Register From April

Bhubaneswar: Amidst the countrywide opposition to the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Odisha government has decided to update the National Population Register (NPR).

Official sources said door-to-door survey, collection and updation of data and house-listing process are scheduled to begin from April 16 and continue till May 31 in Odisha.

Meanwhile, the state government on Friday appointed census officers with their jurisdiction for Census 2021.

District collectors have been appointed as principal census officers for their respective districts except for the municipal corporation areas of Cuttack, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur and Rourkela.

The additional district magistrates will be appointed as district census officers and deputy collectors as deputy district census officers.

In a related development, senior Congress leader from Odisha, Sarat Rout alleged that BJP is keen to implement NPR and subsequently NCR to divide the country.

BJP maintained that there is no relation between NPR and NRC. “NPR is being implemented as there is a need to have some data for implementation of developmental schemes,” said Odisha BJP vice-president Samir Mohanty, New Indian Express reported.