The socio-economic and caste census in the district got off to a start at the Vellaramkuthu Adivasi colony in Kuttampuzha on Tuesday.
The census is aimed at identifying the beneficiaries for the 12th plan projects and to formulate centrally-administered projects for urban and rural development.
T.U. Kuruvilla, MLA, inaugurated the census. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kuruvilla said that accurate statistics and a database is needed for the implementation of welfare schemes.
He said that government schemes will benefit eligible sections only if necessary data is available at the finger tips of officials.
District Collector P.I. Sheikh Pareed presided over the function.
The census started with the officials led by the Collector collecting data from the husband-wife duo of Saju and Mohini of Vellaramkuthu colony.
Officials were accompanied by data entry operators to transfer the information collected to tablet computers on the spot.
The census is being undertaken by the Union Ministries for Rural Development and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Registrar General of India, Bharat Electronics Limited and National Informatics Centre. The data collected will be passed on to the national population register.
The enumeration to be conducted using separate questionnaires in urban and rural areas would help collect the social, economic, and caste-related details of all citizens across the country.
Employees of government departments, local self-government bodies, public sector units, and teachers of standard IX onwards will be deployed for enumeration activities.
Hundred to 125 houses in each village will be treated as an enumeration block for the census.
Each enumerator will be allotted a maximum of up to four enumeration blocks.
Of the details collected, a draft of all except those relating to caste will be published at the panchayat ward level. The final list will be published after settling complaints raised, if any.
