Housing Census in Andhra Pradesh from May 1; self-enumeration to start on April 16

Andhra Pradesh will undertake the houselisting and housing census from May 1 to May 30, with a self-enumeration window scheduled from April 16 to April 30, as part of India’s nationwide census exercise beginning April 1.

Interacting with The Hindu, J. Nivas, Director of Census Operations and Citizen Registration for the State, said the exercise marks a significant shift, as the Census will be conducted digitally for the first time. The introduction of self-enumeration is a key feature aimed at enabling citizens to fill in their own household details, thereby reducing the burden on field enumerators.

Citizens can access the self-enumeration facility through the official portal, where they can log in using their mobile number, identify their location on the map, fill in household details and submit the information. A Self-Enumeration ID will be generated, which must be shared with the enumerator for validation.

Enumerators will continue door-to-door visits using the HLO mobile application, designed to function even in offline areas. Any discrepancies in self-enumerated data will be verified and corrected during field visits. Houselisting blocks will be mapped using a web-based geo-referencing system to ensure comprehensive coverage.

The State has deployed about 1.08 lakh enumerators, including a 10% reserve workforce. Extensive training programmes have been conducted, with district-level sessions already completed and further training for field trainers scheduled between April 9 and 22.

Highlighting data security, Mr. Nivas said strict safeguards are in place to ensure privacy, with no unauthorised access to individual data permitted. The population census is scheduled for February next year.