In one of the first such cases, the Haryana administration has recommended registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against two government school employees for alleged negligence in census-related work and dereliction of government duties. The Census Act allows for up to three years in prison for such offences.
The criminal action comes even as enumerators, mostly government school teachers, have complained of hostile behavior and denial of entry by high-rise residents and the Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA).
On Thursday (May 7, 2026), Gurugram Municipal Corporation joint commissioner and enumeration nodal officer Punit Kumar said enumerators were denied entry to several housing societies despite proof of identity cards. He said that he informed all the RWAs and management of housing societies that the government has deputed the officials and enumerators for the census work and directed them to do their work.
“Several census commissioners complained that the closed companies did not allow them to enter to carry out field work related to the census. Subsequently, I wrote to all RWAs that they should be allowed to enter the companies after verification of identity cards and authorization letter. Census work is being done in public interest,” Kumar told The Hindu.
Awareness campaigns
Census officials are conducting public information campaigns on social media to inform people that their data will be kept confidential and that no resident will lose access to government programs based on census data.
Registrar General of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan on Thursday flagged off six awareness vans as part of the Delhi 2027 public awareness campaign for the ongoing first phase of Census 2027 i.e. House and Apartment Census (HLO). These vans will travel across Delhi carrying messages on census participation, self-enumeration facilities, key features of Census 2027 and the importance of public cooperation with enumerators during field visits, a government statement said.
The aim of the campaign is to ensure wider dissemination of information, increase public awareness and facilitate the smooth progress of the census in the territory of the national capital.
Penalty for obstruction
Mr. Narayan wrote to states on March 17 informing them that any census official who refuses to do his duty or damages and destroys any census document will face up to three years in prison.
Mr. Kumar said that under Section 11 of the Census Act, 1948, if anyone shows negligence in the work entrusted to him, refuses to do the work or frustrates the work of the census officer, there is a provision of imprisonment for up to three years.
He said that the Supervisor appointed for Census announced that the staff of GMPS School, Garhi Harsaru and OMP School, Sector-1, Manesar have been appointed as Census Commissioners. “Despite being informed several times, both the individuals are neglecting their duty and refusing to take the census. Their duty has been entrusted to the jurisdiction of the Municipal Office and due to their conduct, the important task of taking the census is being obstructed. There are others who are refusing to do the work, action will be taken against them as well,” Kumar said.
The first phase is underway
The first phase of the census began on April 1 and will end on September 30 across the country. About 30,000 counters are to be involved. About 92 lakh households have so far successfully completed self-enumeration across 23 states and union territories through the official portal, the statement added.
This is the first digital census and the first caste census and enabling self-counting. The last census was conducted in 2011. The caste will be enumerated in the second phase in February 2027, except in Ladakh and the snow-covered areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, where both phases are to be completed by 30 September.
Enumerator home visits are currently underway in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Delhi (NDMC and Delhi Cantonment Board areas), Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Laksa Pradesh, Mikkjamdép, Madzora Pradép and Uttarakhand
Published – 07 May 2026 22:25 IST
