NPR and census drives in Maharashtra to begin from May 1

The state will commence the implementation of the National Population Register (NPR) from May 1, even as the country has been witnessing several protests against

The state will commence the implementation of the National Population Register (NPR) from May 1, even as the country has been witnessing several protests against NPR, as well as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

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The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner (RGCC) has held a meeting with state officials over the NPR and census drives and drawn together a force of about 3.34 lakh to implement the two procedures. The state government is expected to issue a notification about the drive soon.

The drives are expected to be completed in six weeks. An official said technology will be used to conduct the drives to ensure the exercises are completed in time. The state has directed district collectors to draw teachers and health workers for census-related work and give them the required training. The state employees appointed as enumerators and supervisors for the drive will be given a proper training to undertake the programme. There are multiple columns in the forms that will be filled by the enumerators visiting the households. The forms will have information related to an individual’s details and domicile, nationality, among other details.

“We have only coordinated with the RGCC and passed on the funds to the district collectorates received from the central government for the implementation of the census and the NPR. We will soon issue a notification in this regard on the lines of the one issued by the Centre. Unlike seven non-BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] states, Maharashtra may not pass a resolution against the CAA and NRC and thus there would not be any problem in implementing the NPR either,” another official from Mantralaya said.

The Congress, which is one of the ruling partners in the state, has taken a staunch stand against the implementation of the NPR as well as the CAA and NRC. Congress minister Varsha Gaikwad had said last week that the state government will not allow the NPR to roll out in the state.

Its two other allies, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), however, have not openly opposed the implementation of NPR in the state.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, during the winter session of the Assembly, had said that the government will take appropriate stand only after the Supreme Court verdict, as the hearing on the issue is going on.

Apart from this, the state administration has chosen to maintain silence on the issue and not taken a stand on it.