With the ongoing Census exercise throwing up data that differ from government records, particularly on issues such as open defecation and household access to electricity or cooking gas connections, enumerators say they have been asked by senior officials to revisit households and correct the data “discrepancies”.
Several enumerators, mostly government schoolteachers and anganwadi workers, had taken to social media to report the discrepancies and to flag the glaring inequality and poverty on the ground. Some even complained that residents were unwilling to share information, fearing cancellation of government benefits.
On June 2, the Director of Census Operations (DCO), Rajasthan, wrote to all district functionaries that “during the analysis of field data collected so far, some discrepancies have been noticed”. In the letter accessed by The Hindu, the Charge Officers were instructed to “verify the block-level data through the CMMS (Census Management and Monitoring System) portal, in accordance with the actual field situation”.
The letter stated that a discrepancy in data collection was noticed largely over a few subjects. In particular, the letter flagged the categorisation of “open defecation” for most households; usage of fuel such as wood, dung cakes, crop residue, kerosene, etc., being recorded for households having LPG connections, especially in urban areas; and for the drinking water section, the option of “tap water from treated source” not being recorded for most households. It further said that for drinking water sources such as a river, pond, dam, canal, spring, lake, tank, etc., the option “within premises” cannot apply, and that the option “near premises” should also be checked carefully.
It also cited the selection of the “no lighting” option and showed internet access as available even when the household did not have a phone (basic/smartphone/landline).
When contacted, a senior Census official said, “The letter was issued to ensure that actual field conditions are recorded without any ambiguity or lack of understanding, and without any communication gap between the household and the enumerator. Discrepancies found after field verification by Charge Officers, Sub-Divisional Census Officers, Principal Census Officers, District Coordinators, Officers of Census Directorate, etc., must be addressed. The quality of data/information should not be affected due to ambiguity or lack of clarity or preconceived notion.”
As of August 13, 2025, out of 5,86,944 villages, as many as 5,66,068 were declared ODF by the Union government.
An enumerator from Rajasthan told The Hindu on condition of anonymity, “In the mobile app, if we enter that a household has a tin roof, we are asked by our superiors to change it to concrete. Are we supposed to lie? Similarly, if the house does not have a toilet and occupants are defecating in the open, we are told to check if there is a toilet nearby, even that of a neighbour or a relative, which they may be using occasionally or even a public urinal. Then the entry can be changed from ‘open defecation’ to having access to a toilet.”
Another enumerator from Uttar Pradesh said, “Being government officials, we have been asked not to select options that may show the government in a poor light.”
Enumerators said they were also getting requests from underprivileged people to help them get government schemes.
“Most households in my area of responsibility did not have basic facilities. No roof, door or walls. Where are we supposed to write down the Census household number? The residents assumed that we could help them avail government schemes and services, such as LPG connections, running water, a subsidised house or a toilet and even a pension,” said an enumerator from Uttar Pradesh.
Rekha Devi, head of the anganwadi workers union in Uttarakhand, said that workers were facing difficulties during enumeration. “There is no mobile connectivity in several villages. The government provides a mobile phone recharge worth ₹66, whereas the entire exercise is digital. We cannot shut the anganwadi centres even for a day. How are we supposed to conduct door-to-door enumeration along with all the other duties,” asked Ms. Devi.
Census is conducted in two phases – Houselisting Operations (HLO) and the Population Census.
At present, the HLO phase, which started on April 1, is going on in phases across the country. The HLO exercise, where 33 notified questions are asked relating to housing conditions, household details, amenities available and assets possessed by households, is to be concluded by September 30.
This is the first digital Census, and around 32 lakh enumerators are entering the records on their personal phones on a mobile application developed by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India’s (RG&CCI) office.
The field operations are being monitored in real-time on a portal by senior officials to “oversee progress, identify gaps or delays, and ensure timely completion of activities in accordance with prescribed timelines”. To effectively manage and monitor the various Census-related activities, a dedicated web-based portal, namely the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS), has been developed.
Each enumerator is expected to cover around 120-150 households of around 750-800 residents.
Published – June 03, 2026 10:14 pm IST
