Haryana begins prep for fully digital Census 2027, freezes boundaries

About 60,000 government staff will be deployed, with data monitored on a centralised portal and transfers barred during census operations.

Preparations for the Census 2027 have begun and the first meeting of the State Level Census Coordination Committee (SLCCC) was chaired on Friday by state chief secretary Anurag Rastogi who reviewed timelines, manpower deployment and inter-departmental coordination required for the census.

The state now has 23 districts and 94 sub-districts, with house listing blocks rising to about 51,000 from 45,361 in 2011. (HT Archive)

This will be Haryana’s first fully digital census wherein the government will place detailed administrative, logistical and budgetary planning to ensure a smooth rollout of the nationwide exercise.

Officials said all administrative boundaries across the state have been frozen, and no changes to district, sub-division, tehsil, municipal or village boundaries will be permitted until the completion of census operations, to maintain uniformity and credibility of data.

As per guidelines issued by the Union government, Phase 1 of the census will begin on May 1 and continue till September. This will involve House listing and Housing Census, during which detailed information on buildings, household amenities and assets will be recorded.

Phase 2, to be conducted in February 2027, will focus on population enumeration, capturing the actual headcount of residents, including caste-related data. Both phases will rely entirely on mobile applications for data collection, with citizens also given the option of self-enumeration. In preparation, Haryana has begun deploying manpower and upgrading logistical arrangements, particularly in newly created districts, with all census data to be digitally captured and monitored through a centralised portal.

Further, Rastogi said coordination among departments and timely decision making will be critical for the activity and functionaries will not be transferred during the census period.

Director of the Census 2027, Lalit Jain told the committee that the report represents a major shift, as the entire process will be conducted in digital mode. He said Haryana has already demonstrated technological readiness through a 100% digital pre-test conducted using mobile applications in Panchkula, Hisar and Faridabad, covering a population of over one lakh.

For Phase-I operations, around 60,000 government employees, preferably teachers and other staff, will be deployed as enumerators and supervisors.

During the meeting, officials also reviewed changes in Haryana’s administrative and demographic profile since the last census, which took place in 2011.

In the upcoming census, the state will have 23 districts, as against 21 in 2011. The number of sub-districts has increased from 75 to 94, statutory towns from 80 to 88, while census towns have declined from 74 to 51. Urban agglomerations have increased sharply from 12 to 20, and the number of villages now stands at 6,523, compared to 6,841 in 2011. House listing blocks are estimated to rise from 45,361 in 2011 to about 51,000 this time.

The committee also reviewed the approved honorarium structure. Each enumerator and supervisor will receive a total of ₹25,000 for phases 1 ( ₹9,000) and 2 ( ₹16,000), payable after successful completion of each phase. Honorariums for officers at state, divisional, district and sub-divisional levels have also been approved to ensure accountability and motivation, officials said.