Bengaluru: Starting April 15, the data collection for the eighth population census, as well as the controversial National Population Register, will begin in the state. The two will go hand-in-hand and will and will be carried out in phases.
As per reports, the officials will take a census of houses in the first phase (house-listing phase) which will be between April 15 and May 29. The NPR exercise will reportedly be conducted during this phase.
According to revenue minister R Ashoka, preparations for the census are underway and the enumerators are being trained for the process.
Reportedly, officials will visit houses twice, once for the house listing (first phase) and once again for the population census, which will be completed by next year.
This is also going to be the first time that the house-listing process will go paperless with the Union Government developing a mobile app for people to enter their property details. However, officials will still visit each house for data collection.
The NPR has been a point of contention for the Opposition parties in the country, as they believe it will be used as a base for the National Register of Citizens, which is another policy that has been opposed by them and many members of the public. The NPR and NRC are being implemented in conjunction with the amended citizenship law.
Non-BJP ruled states have decided not to implement the NPR and will be moving ahead only with the regular census.
