CHENNAI: The Pre-Test for Census 2027 is being planned in three places in Tamil Nadu and preparations for this is under way, as per a communication by the registrar general and census commissioner of India to chief secretary N Muruganandam, who is heading the 20-member State-level Census Coordination Committee.
The three places are RK Pet taluk in Tiruvallur district, Maangadu in Kancheepuram district and Anchetty in Krishnagiri district. These have been chosen, based on different parameters, to assess any new challenges to be anticipated in conducting the forthcoming Census compared to the 2011 Census, especially in hilly terrains and forest areas, sources said.
An official notification for the pre-test in consultation with the state government is expected soon, sources added.
RK Pet, which hosts a SIDCO industrial estate, has new revenue villages and serves as a connecting point to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Anchetty is located in a forest area bordering Karnataka.
The population of Mangadu, located closer to Chennai, has almost doubled (96 per cent) since the 2011 as per estimates. Hence, officials said pre-test in these places are expected to reveal new challenges, which would help in the preparations for the actual census exercise.
Meanwhile, the census department, as part of preparations for the census, has written to all district collectors seeking details about boundaries of their districts and taluks, besides information on new taluks and revenue villages (including number of hamlets), municipal corporations, municipalities, and town panchayats, forest areas (inhabited or uninhabited, including information about settlements there), and their boundaries.
Orders have already been issued for freezing of boundaries of municipalities, revenue villages, towns, tehsils, police stations, sub-divisions, districts, etc, from January 1, 2026, which would mean that no formation of new administrative units in the state or any other alteration of boundaries can happen in the state from this date till the census exercise is over. All pending proposals for changing the boundaries should be completed by December 31, 2025.