The caste-based census for Pune city, which was to be completed by November 15 by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), has failed to take off in the first place due to lack of tablet personal computers (PCs) required for the task.
While Census 2011 was conducted in the city at the beginning of the year, the Central government had approved a proposal to carry out the socio-economic census of the country in which castes of all citizens would be noted.
The caste census was to start on October 1 and completed in 45 days by November 15.
Deputy municipal commissioner, Praveen Ashtikar, told DNA that the PMC is likely to receive its set of tablet PCs for the caste-based census within a couple of days. After receiving the PCs, the PMC would start the work at the earliest and complete it in 45 days.
The PMC has made all preparations for the caste census. Training is given to 1,730 enumerators and 250 supervisors. The civic body is awaiting supply of tablet PCs on which the software is to be loaded.
Once the enumerators have uploaded the data in their handheld computers, it would be transferred to the central server the same day.
The PMC is the nodal agency to conduct the socio-economic census. The enumerators have been trained to carry out the survey and the civic body has made all other preparations for the census.
Prior to the headcount of Census 2011, the enumerators had visited households to gather data for national population register (NPR). Now they would add the socio-economic data to it.
There was pressure from people's representatives belonging to other backward castes (OBCs) to conduct the caste-based census in the country to determine the exact number, so that welfare schemes could be planned accordingly. Hence, the census was to start in the city as part of the nationwide programme.
The last caste-based census was done in the country in 1931 during the British rule. Thereafter, there has been a census every decade, but the caste of all citizens was not enumerated.
Only castes of citizens belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are recorded in the census every decade.
