Muhammad Zahid
SRINAGAR, June 8: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Monday directed the Planning Department to closely monitor the progress of the ongoing House Listing Operations (HLO) under Census-2027 on a daily basis and ensure their meticulous completion by June 30, 2026.
Chairing a meeting of the UT Level Census Coordination Committee (UTLCCC), Dulloo stressed adherence to prescribed timelines and asked officials to extend all necessary support to field functionaries engaged in the exercise. He also directed that staff deployed for Census operations be retained in their present assignments until the successful completion of the exercise.
The Chief Secretary reviewed the pace and progress of the House Listing Operations being conducted as part of the first phase of Census-2027 across Jammu and Kashmir’s districts.
The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary, PD&MD; Secretary, RDD; Director, Census Operations, J&K and Ladakh, and other concerned officers from the Planning and Census Departments. Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners joined through video conferencing.
Describing the Census as a critical national activity and the foundation for evidence-based planning and policy formulation, Dulloo directed all Deputy Commissioners, District Census Officers and field functionaries to ensure full cooperation and coordination for achieving complete coverage of households and population groups across the Union Territory.
Director Census Operations, J&K and Ladakh, Amit Sharma, briefed the meeting on the progress achieved so far and informed that extensive preparatory arrangements had been completed for the successful conduct of the House Listing and Housing Census exercise across Jammu and Kashmir.
He presented a detailed review of field data collection activities, self-enumeration progress, formation of House Listing Blocks (HLBs) and arrangements for enumeration of migratory populations.
Sharma informed the meeting that 23,887 House Listing Blocks had been created across 295 Census Charges in Jammu and Kashmir. Field operations have commenced in 14,279 HLBs, with enumeration progressing steadily across districts.
The Chief Secretary also took note of Jammu and Kashmir’s performance in the self-enumeration component of the Census. The Union Territory has secured the first position among all Union Territories and eighth position among States and Union Territories where self-enumeration has been completed so far.
As of June 1, 2026, a total of 6.67 lakh households had successfully completed self-enumeration through the digital platform, the meeting was informed.
Dulloo also reviewed special arrangements for enumeration of migratory and transhumant populations. Officials informed the meeting that a comprehensive mechanism had been devised in coordination with the Forest, Tribal Affairs, Sheep Husbandry, Animal Husbandry, School Education Departments and district administrations to ensure 100 per cent coverage of migratory communities during the HLO phase.
Detailed information regarding migratory routes, tribal hostels, mobile schools, sheep husbandry camps and other congregation points has been shared with all concerned districts.
The meeting was further informed that district administrations had been advised to adopt flexible strategies, including fixing special enumeration dates and creating additional House Listing Blocks wherever required, to ensure that no eligible household or population group is left out of the census exercise.
The Chief Secretary directed officers to maintain close supervision over the remaining preparatory activities and ensure strict adherence to census guidelines and timelines. He underscored the legal provisions available under the Census Act, 1948, and urged all departments and local authorities to extend full assistance to census personnel in the discharge of their duties.
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