Field census contradicts government data, census commissioners asked to review and review data

With the ongoing census producing data that differs from government records, particularly on issues such as open defecation and households’ access to electricity or gas connections for cooking, census commissioners said they have been asked by senior officials to revisit households and correct “inconsistencies” in the data.

Several enumerators, mostly government teachers and anganwadi workers, took to social media to report irregularities and highlight the glaring inequality and poverty on the ground. Some have even complained that residents are unwilling to share information for fear of government benefits being cut.

On June 2, the Director of Census (DCO), Rajasthan, wrote to all district officials that “certain discrepancies have been noticed during the analysis of the field data collected so far”. In the letter accessed by The Hindu, the officials were directed to “verify the block-level data through the CMMS (Census and Monitoring System) portal in accordance with the actual situation on the ground”.

The letter stated that irregularities in the collection of data were noted mainly for a few entities. In particular, the letter marked the categorization of “open defecation” for most households; fuel consumption such as wood, manure, crop residues, kerosene etc. is recorded for households with LPG connections, especially in urban areas; And in terms of drinking water, most households do not have the possibility of “tap water from a treated source”. He further stated that for sources of drinking water such as river, pond, dam, canal, spring, lake, reservoir, etc., the option “inside the premises” cannot be used and that the option “near the facility” should also be carefully checked.

It also indicated the choice of “no lights” and showed that Internet access is available even if the household does not have a telephone (landline/smartphone/landline).

When contacted, a senior census official said, “The letter has been issued to ensure that the actual field conditions are recorded without any ambiguity or lack of understanding and without any communication gap between the households and the Census Commissioner. Discrepancies found after field verification by Collectors, Sub-Divisional Enumeration Officers, Principal Enumeration Officers, District Coordinators, Census Officers, etc. should not be addressed to Directors of Data Quality/Census Information Officers etc. affected due to ambiguity, vagueness or bias.”

As many as 5,66,068 villages have been declared ODF by the Union Government as on 13 August 2025 out of 5,86,944 villages.

A census commissioner from Rajasthan told The Hindu on condition of anonymity, “If we enter in the mobile application that the household has a tin roof, our superiors ask us to change it to a concrete one. Are we to lie? Similarly, if the house does not have a toilet and residents are defecating in the open, we are told to check if there is a neighbor or even a public toilet nearby. urinal, then the entry can be changed from “open defecation” to access the toilet.

Another census commissioner from Uttar Pradesh said, “As government officials, we have been asked not to choose options that could show the government in a bad light.

Census commissioners said they also receive requests from disadvantaged people to help them get government programs.

“Most of the households in my area did not have basic amenities. No roof, doors or walls. Where are we supposed to write the census number of the household? Residents assumed that we can help them avail government schemes and services like LPG connections, running water, subsidized house or toilet and even pension,” said a census commissioner from Uttar Pradesh.

Rekha Devi, head of anganwadi union in Uttarakhand, said workers faced problems during the enumeration. “There is no mobile connectivity in several villages. The government is providing ₹66 mobile recharge while the entire exercise is digital. We cannot close anganwadi centers even for a day. How are we supposed to do door-to-door enumeration along with all other duties,” asked Ms. Devi.

The census is conducted in two phases – Houselisting Operations (HLO) and Population Census.

The HLO phase, which started on April 1, is currently underway across the country. The HLO exercise, which asks 33 notified questions about living conditions, household details, available equipment and household assets, is due to be completed by 30 September.

This is the first digital census and around 32 thousand enumerators are entering the entries on their personal phones into the mobile application developed by the office of the Registrar and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI).

Field operations are monitored in real-time on the portal by senior officials to “monitor progress, identify gaps or delays and ensure timely completion of activities in accordance with prescribed deadlines.” A dedicated web portal namely Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) has been developed for effective management and monitoring of various census related activities.

Each enumerator is expected to cover approximately 120-150 households with approximately 750-800 residents.

Published – 03 Jun 2026 22:14 IST