U’khand’s population estimated to be around 1.27 crores
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 9 Sep: The nationwide population census scheduled to begin in February 2027 will formally begin around 2 months earlier in Uttarakhand along with three other states due to upcoming Assembly elections. In this regard, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a gazette notification confirming that the enumeration exercise will be conducted in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa from 1 December 2026 to 4 January 2027. At the same time, a revision round has been scheduled to be held between 5 and 9 January in Uttarakhand and three other states. During the Census exercise, the citizens will also be given the option of self-enumeration from 16 to 30 November, enabling them to record their details online before enumerators begin door-to-door visits.
In reality, however, the census has already started in snowbound areas of Uttarakhand covering 131 villages and three towns across four districts, where enumerators began work on 1 September and will conclude by 30 September. This advance exercise ensures that difficult terrain and harsh weather do not obstruct the process. The first phase of house listing and housing census was completed between 25 April and 24 May 2026, revealing that the state now has over 28.3 lakh families, an increase of 8.18 lakh households in 15 years. The population, which stood at 1.01 crores in 2011, has risen to an estimated 1.27 crores, while the number of residential and non-residential structures has reached 45 lakhs.
Director of Census Operations, Uttarakhand, Eva Ashish Srivastava (an Uttarakhand Cadre IAS officer, presently on Central Deputation) stated that the early census in these four states is necessitated by the forthcoming elections and is aimed at ensuring that enumeration is completed before polling. She confirmed that the questionnaire has been expanded from 33 to 40 questions, covering details such as family composition, education, occupation, migration, digital literacy, vaccination, and possession of identity documents. Each household is expected to take 45 minutes to an hour to complete, hence the 35-day schedule compared to 20 days in previous censuses.
Around 35,000 personnel including enumerators, supervisors and reserve staff will be deployed across the state. Training for them will begin in mid-October. The census blocks created during house listing will be revised, with an expected increase of 10 to 20 per cent, requiring additional manpower. Special arrangements have been put in place for counting the defence and paramilitary personnel, with nodal officers appointed at national and state levels. Their enumeration will be conducted offline for security reasons, while family members residing in camps will be covered under the standard 40-question format. Cantonment boards will be treated like municipal bodies, with their CEOs acting as charge officers under the supervision of district magistrates.
The census reference date will be midnight of 4–5 January 2027, marking the official population count. The exercise is expected to provide updated demographic data crucial for planning, policy-making and resource allocation, while also ensuring that no individual or household is left out of the enumeration process.
