Bhubaneswar, April 3: The Odisha government has taken significant steps to ensure the successful completion of the 2027 Census by directing all departments, district administrations, and urban bodies to refrain from transferring officials and staff involved in census activities.
Arbind Padhy, Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, has issued necessary guidelines through letters to secretaries of various departments, heads of departments, collectors of all districts, municipal commissioners, and chief census officers.
The state government has initiated extensive preparations for the smooth conduct of the 2027 census, which will be carried out digitally in two phases. The first phase will involve house listing and housing census from April 16 to May 15, 2026, while a self-enumeration program will take place from April 1 to April 15, 2026.
The second phase will focus on population enumeration in February 2027. The government has emphasized that to ensure the success of the census, all departments and local bodies must adhere to the directive of not transferring officials and staff engaged in this work. Chief census officers in all districts and municipal corporations have been instructed to complete the training of census personnel within the stipulated timeframe.
Additionally, transfers of master trainers and field trainers involved in the census will also be prohibited until March 2027. The government clarified that any transfer of supervisors and enumerators will require prior approval from the respective district chief census officer.
Heads of all departments have been directed to strictly enforce the guidelines regarding transfer control for field-level census personnel. All officials and staff associated with the census will perform their duties under the Census Act of 1948 and the Census Rules of 1990.
The state government has appealed for cooperation from all stakeholders to ensure the success of the 2027 census. Meanwhile, a second meeting of the state-level coordination committee for the 2027 census was held on Thursday, chaired by Chief Secretary Anu Garg at the Lok Seva Bhawan.