Census 2027: Houselisting begins in MCD areas

Census 2027 houselisting began in Delhi, with 50,000 enumerators mapping 250 wards, collecting data on housing and amenities until June 15.

New Delhi: The month-long houselisting exercise for Census 2027 commenced on Saturday for 250 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) wards, with over 50,000 enumerators tasked with reaching out to 46,000 blocks to map structures, assess housing conditions and list assets.

Officials said for the first three to four days, enumerators would focus on “ground-truthing” activities to verify localities and households, and also take up mapping and other work. (Sanchit Khanna/ HT)

Officials said for the first three to four days, enumerators would focus on “ground-truthing” activities to verify localities and households, and also take up mapping and other work. Each enumerator has been assigned about 180 to 200 households, who will digitally gather information on housing conditions, household details, amenities and assets through a structured questionnaire containing 33 notified questions.

Bracing scorching heat

At 8 am on Saturday, 58-year-old census supervisor Kavita Bansal led a team of six enumerators through a locality in Karol Bagh, helping them familiarise themselves with the area they will navigate over the next month. Moving from lane to lane and house to house, the team will record residents’ responses as part of the nationwide exercise.

“Today is just the first day, so I accompanied the enumerators to help them familiarise themselves with the area and guide them through any challenges that may arise,” said Bansal, who has worked as an enumerator in the previous two Census exercises and is now serving as a supervisor.

“The summers are harsh, so I have advised them to avoid peak afternoon hours. Safety, especially for women enumerators, is also a concern, so I have asked them to request that the head of the family or a family member step outside while providing details,” she added.

Standing nearby was 32-year-old enumerator Manish Lane, trying to reach out to a family living on the second floor of a building after its members refused to come downstairs.

“Several residents are unwilling to come downstairs and instead shout out details from the third or fourth floor. In some homes, only elderly couples are present, and they do not always have answers to all the questions. In other cases, residents are hesitant and suspicious about sharing personal details such as their contact numbers,” she added.

In Jangpura, a team of four women enumerators from Kamla Nehru Government Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya (SKV), Jangpura Extension, was seen conducting ground-truthing.

One enumerator said, “I travel from Mahipalpur every day. We are also taking remedial classes these days. The classes end at 11 am, and we came here. We will try to wrap up our work by 2 pm and then head home.”

Another enumerator pointed to the challenges posed by the weather. “We have been given ORS in the kits we carry, and we also bring our own water bottles,” she said.

The houselisting exercise will conclude in MCD areas on June 15. The questionnaire includes ownership of house, number of dwelling rooms, main source of drinking water and lighting, access to toilet and bathroom, fuel used for cooking, use of radio, television, computer, laptop, bicycle, car, jeep, van, main cereal consumed and the use of mobile phones, according to the notification.

The houselisting phase will be followed by population enumeration in February 2027, which will encompass the collection of demographic and socio-economic data.