Gandhinagar, May 27 (IANS) More than 2.36 lakh people across Gujarat, including Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, ministers, senior bureaucrats and citizens, have participated in the state’s ongoing self-enumeration campaign for Census 2027, officials said on Wednesday.

The self-enumeration campaign, which began on May 17 and will continue until May 31, allows residents to submit their census details online before the formal enumeration process begins next year.

According to the Directorate of Census Operations in Gujarat, Ahmedabad recorded the highest participation with more than 42,000 registrations, followed by Surat with 22,000, Vadodara and Anand with 16,000 each, Rajkot with 14,000 and Mehsana with more than 11,000 participants.

Census Director Sujal Mayatra said the campaign had received a strong response from citizens across the state and appealed for wider participation before the deadline.

“If maximum citizens across the state fill the self-enumeration forms from home using technology, along with providing accurate information, it will reduce the workload on census employees and increase the speed of work,” he said.

Mayatra said government employees would also participate in large numbers over the next two days.

All employees under the Health and Education Departments will fill self-enumeration forms on May 29, while personnel under the Police Department will do so on May 30.

“Census 2027 would, for the first time, include a self-enumeration system allowing citizens to submit details through an online portal and mobile phones. The forms can be accessed only through a designated QR code,” he said.

Citizens can submit their information through the official portal. After completing the process, respondents will receive an SE ID, which must be shared with the enumerator during the official visit.

The data will then be verified before being added to the central database.

Officials said the use of digital systems and mobile applications in 16 languages, including Gujarati, is expected to speed up data collection and reduce field workload. Data collection will also be possible in offline mode through Android and iOS applications.

The census exercise will be conducted in two phases. The first phase, House Listing and Housing Census (HLO), will take place in Gujarat from June 1 to June 30.

During this stage, officials will collect information on housing conditions, household details, drinking water sources, toilet facilities and other assets through 33 questions.

The second phase, Population Enumeration (PE), is scheduled from February 9 to February 28, 2027. Officials said the caste census exercise would also be completed during this phase.

Mayatra said all information collected under the Census Act, 1948 and Census Rules, 1990 would remain confidential and could not be used for legal or taxation purposes.

“Every individual is legally bound to provide true and complete information and there is also a provision for penalty for refusing to provide information,” he said.

–IANS

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