HYDERABAD: Caste census, one of the Congress’ pre-poll promises to assess socio-economic, employment, political and caste status of the people, kicked off in the state on Wednesday.
It is being done with an objective to know the population of each caste to ensure social justice as envisioned by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The state government has set up a dashboard to monitor the real time progress of the survey modules.
In the first phase, the enumerators pasted stickers on each house using it as an identification mark to conduct the survey.
The sticker has the details such as name of the village or municipality, ward number, enumeration block (EB), number of houses in the EB, the serial number of houses, house number, name of head of the family, and date of the enumeration. In the second phase, scheduled to begin from November 9, the enumerators will start collecting the data.
The state government has adopted a resolution in the Legislative Assembly to conduct a comprehensive survey on February 4, 2024. Subsequently, it issued a GO MS No 18 dated October 10,2024, appointing the Planning Department as nodal agency.
The surveyors were given a questionnaire containing 75 questions which were designed after wide consultations with civil societies, intellectuals, and other stakeholders.
The government has divided around 150 to 175 houses in each EB, and appointed 10 enumerators for each block. As per the data released by the government, Telangana has 1,17,44,954 families, of which 28,32,490 are in the GHMC area. Accordingly, the government has divided the GHMC area into 19,328 EBs and the rest of the state into 87,092 EBs. Out of 94,750 enumerators across the state, 24,488 have been engaged for the survey in GHMC areas.
The government has appointed 9,478 supervisors to monitor the enumerators. The additional collectors have been appointed as nodal officers at district level. After collecting the data, it will be computerised at mandal and district level.
‘Data will be protected’
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka demanded that the BJP leaders conduct a nationwide caste census if they want to know Rahul Gandhi’s caste. The exercise to enumerate the caste composition which has begun in the state will become the model to the country, he claimed and added the Congress will implement it nationwide under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.
The deputy CM asserted that the survey will enable the state to draft policies to utilise resources for the benefit of marginalised sections and create equal opportunities. He assured that the privacy of the citizens would be protected.
IT Minister D Sridhar Babu said that their top leader Rahul Gandhi has set a direction saying that the survey in Telangana should serve as an inspiration to the entire nation. The government machinery in the state has been working to conduct a caste survey for over a week, he said and added that the information collected will be used for welfare and development of people.
Panchayat Raj & Rural Development Minister Dansari Anasuya alias Seethakka said that Rahul Gandhi affirmed that caste census will deliver social justice in terms of financial, education, and employment opportunities. She said that Rahul Gandhi is not just a politician but a great warrior and reformer.