HYDERABAD: A public interest litigation was filed in the High Court on Friday with a plea to restrain the Telangana government from using the recent intensive household survey data in deciding eligibility for welfare schemes.
Petitioner J Ram Mohan Chowdary, a social activist, alleged that the government had conducted the intensive household survey on August 19 this year with a mala fide intention to make people belonging to Seemandhra ineligible to avail welfare schemes implemented by the Centre and the state. “Besides, in the absence of statutory power, it has administered oath/ affirmation during the survey for purpose of legalising the quasi-racial and tamperable data which is ultra vires to Oath Act, 1969.”
He requested the court to direct the central government to probe all phases of survey i.e. pre-enumeration, enumeration and post-enumeration, census questionnaire and its legality, including oath administration and security of census data.
The petitioner urged the court to restrain the Telangana government from keeping the survey data in public domain, including digitization, till authenticity and legality of data is established after enquiry by the Centre. Digitization of census data has to be stopped as it contains personal data of the citizens, he said.The matter is expected to come up for hearing next week.