HYDERABAD: As questions related to Aadhaar, bank account, properties, income tax details, caste and other related information are part of comprehensive household survey (Kula Ganana), the enumerators are facing opposition from the people. They are taking serious exception to giving out the sensitive data.
During the process of data collection, some residents are expressing concerns over potential removal of their names from ration cards and other welfare schemes using the data. There is a reason for the residents to worry about the questions posed at the survey as they are seeking financial information of the households.
The questions to which there is resistance are those related to family income. The enumerators are asking for details of the sources of income of all the family members, like the income on the land they possess, salary of the family members if they are employed and the details of income tax returns.
Even though the Congress government has declared that the data will be useful in implementing welfare and development schemes, the people are worried that it may be used in rendering them ineligible for welfare schemes.
At some places, the enumerators were asked why the government wanted to know such details. Some residents went to the extent of recording videos as the enumerator was seeking sensitive financial information.
“Why do you want to know my caste? Why do you want to know my bank details?” are some of the questions being put to the enumerators. These questions could be heard in the videos that are flooding the social media. There is not much opposition in urban areas for such questions but in rural areas, the people are looking at the survey teams with suspicion.
Meanwhile, Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said that there was no need to have any apprehensions about the caste survey.
He said that the survey was meant for knowing the population each caste to extend welfare schemes to them. Prabhakar said that there will not be any pruning of the number of people who are at present the beneficiaries of welfare schemes.
