Leh, Feb 25: Describing the Census as the foundation of governance and development planning, Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra on Wednesday said Census 2027 will play a decisive role in shaping welfare schemes, infrastructure expansion and public service delivery across Ladakh.
He was chairing a one-day UT-Level Training Conference on House Listing Operations (HLO) for Census 2027, organised by the Planning, Development & Monitoring Department (PD&MD), the nodal department for Census in Ladakh, in collaboration with the Directorate of Census Operations, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Addressing senior officers and field functionaries, Kundra observed that the Census is not merely a data collection exercise but a structured national effort that directly informs evidence-based policy decisions and equitable allocation of resources. He stressed that accuracy at the grassroots level would determine the effectiveness of future development strategies.
The Chief Secretary called for translation of census schedules and training material into local languages to ensure clarity among enumerators and respondents. He underlined the need for decentralised and structured training at district, sub-division and village levels so that supervisors and enumerators are fully conversant with technical procedures and digital tools.
Earlier, Amit Sharma, Director Census Operations, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, provided a detailed presentation on Census 2027 and the roadmap for House Listing Operations. He emphasised early sensitisation of stakeholders, timely appointment of Nodal Officers and strong inter-departmental coordination. He expressed confidence that Ladakh could emerge among the leading performing regions in the country during the upcoming Census exercise.
Deliberations during the conference covered the background, methodology, timeline and implementation framework of Census 2027. Officials informed that the exercise in Ladakh will be conducted in two phases — House Listing Operations followed by Population Enumeration.
The administrative structure under the Ministry of Home Affairs and the statutory framework under the Census Act, 1948 were also explained, highlighting the legal safeguards and responsibilities associated with the national exercise.
A dedicated technical session focused on digital mechanisms to be deployed, including mobile-based applications and the Census Management & Monitoring System (CMMS). Officials elaborated on CMMS functionalities such as registration of census functionaries, monitoring of field activities, reporting protocols and fund management systems.
The provision for self-enumeration, enabling residents to submit information through an online portal, was discussed at length. Officials described it as a new feature of Census 2027 and urged the UT administration to facilitate public access through designated offices. Data protection measures and cyber safeguards were also reviewed to ensure confidentiality and integrity of collected information.
The meeting further examined technical and administrative requirements for strengthening UT, district and charge-level census offices. Discussions included augmentation of IT infrastructure, engagement of additional manpower, issuance of circulars and addressing operational constraints encountered so far.
Presentations were also delivered on the roles and responsibilities of census functionaries, registration procedures on the CMMS portal, training modules, fund disbursement and utilisation norms, and mechanisms to address field-level challenges.
The conference concluded with a call for coordinated action across departments and focused outreach campaigns to ensure broad public awareness and participation across Ladakh.
Among those present were Dr L Franklin, Commissioner Secretary, PD&MD and Nodal Officer for Census 2027 in Ladakh; Rakesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Kargil; Moses Kun Kunzang, Administrative Secretary, Youth Services & Sports; Ghulam Mohd, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Leh; Imtiyaz Kacho, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kargil; Tsewang Gyalson, Chief Planning Officer, Leh; Sunil Kaul, State Informatics Officer, NIC; Punchok Paldan, Director, NIC Leh; and Konchok Gyalson, Joint Director Planning, along with other senior officers.
From the Directorate of Census Operations, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Arun Kumar, Joint Director; Manmeet Singh Loomba, Deputy Director; Jatinder Kumar, Assistant Director; Sanjay Kumar, SIG-I; and Tashi Otsal, SIG-II, also attended the conference.
