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Census enumerators find the going tough in posh areas

''Census is a statutory responsibility,'' says the message on billboards prominently splashed all over the capital.

But for several enumerators, who are gathering information for Census 2001, which will be used in policy formulation by the government, it is turning out to be a thankless job.

''Scowling faces, contemptuous shrugs and sheer indifference bordering on arrogance are the general features that confront us in posh areas in south Delhi,'' is the common grouse of several enumerators doing the rounds of swank localities.

An official from the Directorate of Census Operations, Delhi told UNI that in some cases things had been allowed to reach ridiculous lengths. ''Either they are not opening their doors or sending their servants to provide information on behalf of them, little realising that they are only belittling a serious government exercise.''

Besides posh colonies of south Delhi, the problem is also being encountered in other parts of the city. But people living in the government flats are extremely cooperative.

''Even in slum areas, there is no resistance to the queries by the enumerators. This is because slum areas have their own headmen or pradhans, who are helpful in providing information on a collective basis,'' the official said.

Delhi Census Director Vimla Jindgar said people might be having inhibitions about certain queries like landlords not willing to divulge information about their tenants, fearing these could be later used against them by the property tax department.

But all the information has to be kept secret as per statutory provisions and cannot be used against the people, she said. ''The Census Act, however, provides that all persons should provide reasonable access and information to enumerators. The act also entails a fine of Rs 1,000 for wilful suppression of information,'' Jindgar said, adding that there had not been a single instance of fine being imposed so far.

Conceding that some of the new questions in the current census, like the date of marriage for males, the number of dead children, households with landholding anywhere in the country and disability, could be irksome for many, Jindgar said the enumerators had been asked to be extremely polite while posing these queries.

Delhi Census Deputy Director S L Jain had even to issue a statement asking the people to co-operate with the enumerators. ''In several areas of the capital, people are holding back information because of some unfounded fear and misconceptions. This makes it possible that those who are living in rented accommodation may not be included in census operations.''

Jain clarified that Section 15 of the Census Act,1948 ensures that the information gathered during a census would be kept secret and these cannot be used against the person concerned by any government or private office. ''The basic aim of the census, besides the headcount, is to gather vital information about the people, their socio-economic status and the fertility rate. The data is used as inputs for policy formulation by the central and state governments.''

He said enumerators had also been asked to visit houses by wearing I-cards given by the census department so that people were not suspicious of their identity.

With regard to the disability question in the current census, he said even Congress President Sonia Gandhi had welcomed it and appealed to all disabled people, their parents and families that ''they must get counted so that they are empowered to exert their rights as equal citizens.''

Gandhi, who is also Chairperson of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, said the Census of 2001 would be the benchmark of Indian population at the beginning of the new millennium and the disabled must no longer remain an ''invisible minority.''

UNI

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