Chandigarh 5 November 2026:
A meeting of State Nodal Officers for Special Charges was held today under the chairpersonship of Dr Navjot Khosa IAS Director of Census Operations, Punjab to orient the state nodal officers and review preparations for Population Enumeration (Phase-II) of Census 2027 in restricted-access areas.
The meeting focused on ensuring secure, accurate and time-bound enumeration in Special Charges, which include Defence areas, CAPF areas, camps and establishments, Training Centres, Scientific and Research Centres, and operational / forward and inaccessible areas, where access to civilian enumerators is restricted.
It was informed that Population Enumeration (Phase-II) will be conducted from 1st December 2026 to 4th January 2027, followed by Revisional Round from 5th to 9th January 2027. The Reference Date for Census 2027 is 00:00 hours of 5th January 2027.
Key decisions taken in the meeting:
- State Nodal Officers will identify all Special Charges in the State, assess the estimated population to be covered, and share the list with the concerned DCO.
- A Gazetted Officer will be appointed as Charge Officer for each Special Charge.
- DCO Punjab will provide Instruction Manuals, blank Census Schedules, location codes and other Census material. Data entry will be done at the Special Charge through a separate module to be provided by the Office of the Registrar General of India.
- Training of Special Charge Officers will be held on 12th November 2026 at NITTTR, Sector 26, Chandigarh. Training of Enumerators and Supervisors will be organised thereafter by the respective Special Charge Officers in coordination with State Nodal Officers, PCO and DCO Punjab.
- The training Of special charge E&S has to be completed by 30th November 2026.
The meeting emphasised close coordination between the State Nodal Officers, Special Charge Officers and DCO Punjab, for timely training and fieldwork, so that enumeration in Special Charges is completed accurately and within the prescribed timelines.
The Director Census thanked the nodal officers for attending the meeting as it was a privilege being part of such fruitful discussion on the methodology of data collection w.r.t Census 2027.
The meeting ended with a vote of thanks.
