Census may be delayed until 2022 if Covid-19 situation does not improve

With the country reporting over 80,000 coronavirus cases daily and the death toll crossing the one-lakh mark, the Census exercise may be pushed to the following year or even 2022, according to a report by The Times of India.

“The Covid-19 situation in the coming months cannot be predicted at this juncture. Given that the Centre and states’ priority right now is tackling the pandemic and its impact, the states are in no mood for even discussions on the way forward on Census/National Population Register (NPR). In any case, Census is not an essential exercise and can wait,” an official is quoted as saying in the report.

Read: Census, NPR data collection unlikely in 2020 due to Covid-19

The Home Ministry’s notification outlines September 30, 2020, as the end-date for the first phase of the population count. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, even the updation of the NPR has been stalled.

According to the report, sources said that the January 2020 notification indicating the stipulated time period for Census and house-listing operations will lapse on Wednesday, with informal discussions being held with the Law Ministry.

The talks revolve around the lack of need to issue fresh notifications with new timelines.

Even the July 31, 2019, notification declaring the Modi-led government’s decision to update the NPR between April 1 and September 30, 2020, in all states/ UTs except Assam will lapse.

In March, the government has indefinitely postponed the first phase of Census 2021 and the updation of National Population Register (NPR) after the imposition of the lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus.