Jammu, 31 October (H.S.): Jammu and Kashmir has completed 100 per cent fieldwork for the District Census Handbook (DCHB), covering 6,466 villages and 80 towns across the Union Territory, Director Census Amit Sharma said on Saturday.

He said preparations for the Population Enumeration exercise in the non-snowbound areas were underway, with a series of training programmes for Census personnel scheduled between October 26 and January 2027, ahead of the actual exercise beginning on January 25.

The DCHB exercise, conducted from October 8 to 30, had been successfully completed across Jammu and Kashmir. A total of 6,466 villages and 80 towns have been covered, with 100 per cent completion of fieldwork, Sharma, who is also the Chief Principal Census Officer of J&K and Ladakh, told reporters here.

He said the DCHB, comprising the Village Directory and Town Directory, documents the availability of essential facilities and infrastructure, including educational and healthcare institutions, drinking water, sanitation, electricity, banking, communication, irrigation, agriculture and other civic amenities.

Sharma said the data collected during the exercise would now undergo scrutiny and validation. Charge Officers have been given 15 days to recheck and compile the information, which is expected to reach the Directorate by November 15.

The Directorate will subsequently undertake a detailed evaluation and scrutiny of the data, which is expected to be completed by December 15. The finalised information will then be forwarded to the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India for publication, the director said.

Turning to preparations for Population Enumeration, Sharma said the exercise in the snowbound areas of Jammu and Kashmir had been completed during September, covering snowbound areas of 16 districts.

While Kishtwar district was covered entirely, the snowbound areas of the remaining 15 districts were covered partially. Special Charges, including personnel of the armed forces and other security establishments, were also covered during the exercise, he said.

Sharma said preparations for Population Enumeration in the non-snowbound and plain areas were now underway in full swing.

The Government of India had notified the schedule for Population Enumeration, under which self-enumeration would be conducted from January 10 to 24, followed by fieldwork from January 25 to February 28, he said.

He said the Population Enumeration questionnaire will comprise approximately 40 questions, and citizens would be encouraged to keep their relevant documents and personal information ready to facilitate the exercise.

Referring to the training programme, Sharma said a one-day UT-level training session was conducted in Srinagar on October 15, co-chaired by him and J&K Administrative Secretary of the Planning, Development and Monitoring Department Owais Ahmed.

He said the district-level training programmes are being conducted between October 26 and November 10. He said training in Kathua district and the Srinagar Municipal Corporation had already been completed.

Separate two-day training sessions are also being organised for Technical Assistants, Charge Clerks and other Census personnel at the UT, district and charge levels. Each batch will comprise 30 to 35 participants, with two trainers assigned to every batch, he said.

He said the next stage will involve training Master Trainers from different districts. The four-day programme is scheduled for November 17 to 20 and will be conducted by National Trainers.

Subsequently, Master Trainers will train Field Trainers during the first and second weeks of December. The final phase will involve training Enumerators and Supervisors at the Charge Headquarters level, with the programme expected to commence in the fourth week of December and conclude by the second week of January, he said.

The Director Census said special arrangements would be made to cover the Army, Air Force, paramilitary forces and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) during Population Enumeration in the plain areas.

Considering security requirements, these establishments would follow a prescribed paper-based enumeration schedule and subsequently provide their information in digitised form. Special training and designated Charge-level arrangements would also be made for the purpose, he said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar