Patna: The caste based census commenced in Bihar on Saturday. According to official sources, the census will be done in two phases in 38 districts.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the purpose of the census is to get an estimate of the financial situation of all communities so that developmental work can be done accordingly.
Read also: Bihar Local Body Polls: Clash Broke Out Between Supporters Of Two Candidates In Nalanda
First part of the census will comprise counting of residential plots covering twenty lakh families. After that, caste based census and economic status will be surveyed. The first phase will be take up from 7 January till 21 January while the second stage will be conducted from 1 April and will last till 30 April.
The door-to-door survey would cover an estimated population of 12.70 crores in an estimated 2.58 crore households in 38 districts, which have 534 blocks and 261 urban local bodies.
The Rs.500 crores census exercise budget will be made available from 'contingency fund' scheme. If deemed necessary, the budget may be enhanced. The responsibilty of conducting caste based census has been entrusted to local administrative department for which special training is being imparted to employees.
Read also: Bihar Hooch Tragedy Mastermind Ram Babu Arrested From Dwarka
The data will be collected digitally through a mobile application as part of the eight-level survey, from the panchayat to the district level. The app will have questions about place, caste, the number of people in a family, their profession, and annual income. Census workers include teachers, Anganwadi, MGNREGA or Jeevika workers.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said the enumeration exercise will give enable the government to scientifically carry out development work in the state for the benefit of the poor. The decision of a caste census was taken by the Bihar cabinet on 2 June last year. (Agencies)
