Assam Accelerates Preparations for Census 2027
Launch of Census 2027 Phase Two
Enumerators carrying out house-listing exercise under Census 2027 in Hailakandi (Photo: AT)
Guwahati, Oct 12: The preparations for the next phase of Census 2027 in Assam intensified on Monday, as State Minister Keshab Mahanta inaugurated the second phase at the Administrative Staff College in Khanapara, Guwahati.
Mahanta mentioned that a review meeting had taken place with the Principal Census Officer, and training sessions for the personnel involved in this phase would commence shortly.
“The initial phase of the census in Assam has been successfully completed, and today marks the beginning of the second phase,” Mahanta stated.
He explained that the decennial census, which was initially set for 2021, had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The census was meant to occur in 2021, but the pandemic hindered our progress. Consequently, the census is now being conducted nationwide in 2026 and is expected to conclude by March 31, 2027,” he added.
Mahanta noted that flooding had disrupted census activities in Sivasagar and Charaideo, causing these districts to lag behind the rest of the state.
“Floods in Assam prevented us from conducting the census in Sivasagar and Charaideo as planned. However, we have now completed the process in these districts, and the second phase has commenced today,” he remarked.
The house-listing and housing census in Sivasagar and Charaideo had previously been extended until October 31, 2026, due to flood-related challenges.
However, the first phase encountered opposition in villages along the Assam-Meghalaya border, where some residents resisted census teams from Assam gathering household information amid ongoing inter-state boundary disputes.
Census officials reportedly faced pushback in approximately 50 villages in Kamrup district, with some Khasi residents objecting to enumeration by Assam authorities. This resistance raised concerns about potential discrepancies in census records in disputed border regions.
For the first time in India, Census 2027 is being conducted digitally, allowing residents the option to self-enumerate their details.
The first phase focuses on house-listing and the housing census, which documents structures, houses, and households to create a framework for the subsequent population enumeration.
The population enumeration phase is slated for February 2027, during which demographic and socio-economic data will be collected from individuals.