In a development that will reinforce the state government’s latest thinking of going ahead with the municipal polls with Census-2001 data instead of 2011-Census, the Registrar General of India, categorically stated that it is not possible to release details of Census-2011 before March, 2013. In his recent communication to the state government, the RGI said that the processing of details based on Census-2011 had only begun recently and will take at least a year to officially release the same.
Without the support of official data of SC and ST population, it would not be possible for the government to notify reservation of wards for SCs and STs and delimitation of wards in all municipal bodies. The Chief Minister had instructed the municipal administration department as well as advocate-general to file an affidavit before the High Court, explaining the latest position and seek permission to hold municipal polls based on Census-2001.
According to sources in the directorate of census operations, the Census details of 2001 were officially made available only in 2004 and some more data was released in 2008. “Official data is made available only in the subsequent years and not in the immediate year. At present we have only household data and mandal-wise household data. This would be available in another ten days, but population details can be expected only after March, 2013, and not before that,” the source said.
The state government had given an undertaking to the High Court recently, that it would hold elections to civic bodies based on Census-2011 data. It said that the process of Census-2011 will be completed on March 31, and after that it requires 95 days to finalise the reservation of wards and divisions for the SC and STs.