SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has recorded the highest number of Self-Enumeration submissions among States and Union Territories covered under the September schedule of Census 2027, with 9,672 households completing the digital exercise, officials said on Tuesday.
Chief Principal Census Officer (CPCO) and Director, Directorate of Census Operations, J&K and Ladakh, Amit Sharma, on Tuesday launched the Population Enumeration (Phase-II) of Census 2027 in the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The field exercise was formally launched from the remote areas of Dudu and Basantgarh in Udhampur district.
The Self-Enumeration phase for the snow-bound areas was conducted from August 17 to 31, during which J&K emerged as the top-performing State/UT in terms of submissions ahead of the field enumeration.
Among the districts, Pulwama recorded the highest number of submissions at 3,204, followed by Kishtwar with 2,231, Doda with 1,169, Ramban with 629, Poonch with 569 and Kulgam with 554.
In Ladakh, 527 households completed Self-Enumeration, including 301 in Kargil and 226 in Leh. Together, 10,199 households across J&K and Ladakh participated in the digital exercise ahead of the field phase.
Sharma said the launch from Dudu and Basantgarh was significant as the Census machinery would now undertake enumeration in remote, high-altitude and difficult-to-access areas.
He said extensive preparations had been made, including Enumeration Block demarcation, mapping, logistics, training and deployment of field functionaries to ensure coverage of every household and resident.
Sharma also urged residents to cooperate with Enumerators and Supervisors and ensure that their households and eligible family members are accurately covered.
The September enumeration in J&K covers 16 districts and 95 Charges, with an estimated 4,146 Enumeration Blocks. The districts include Poonch, Kathua, Doda, Ramban, Kishtwar, Udhampur, Reasi, Kupwara, Budgam, Baramulla, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag and Kulgam.
In Ladakh, the entire Union Territory is being enumerated during September through an estimated 637 Enumeration Blocks, making it the first Union Territory to be completely covered during Phase-II of Census 2027.
The exercise will also cover the houseless population as well as Special Charges, including Defence and Central Armed Police Forces establishments and other restricted-access locations, in coordination with the concerned authorities.
A Revision Round will subsequently be conducted from October 1 to 5 to review coverage and incorporate eligible changes arising during the prescribed period.
The second phase was preceded by training of Master Trainers, Field Trainers, Enumerators and Supervisors on Census concepts, definitions, field procedures and digital tools.
The CPCO was accompanied by Udhampur Additional Deputy Commissioner Prem Singh, District Statistics and Evaluation Officer Darshan Kumar, Deputy Chief Principal Census Officer Manmeet Singh Loomba, Assistant Chief Principal Census Officers Balbir Singh and Nimrat Kour, and District Coordinator Ajit Raj.
