Door-to-door survey likely for caste-wise population data

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 3

The Haryana Government may undertake an extensive door-to-door survey to determine caste-wise population of the state as the Haryana Backward Classes Commission (HBCC) has demanded this data to go ahead with its report on reservation for the Jat and other castes.

The commission has prepared a two-page questionnaire to be given to the government for the door-to-door survey on social, educational and economic status of the entire population of the state.

The HBCC met today under its Chairman Justice SN Aggarwal to consider objections received to the caste-wise data of employees supplied to the commission by the government last month.

Shekhar Vidyarthi, Member Secretary and two other members, Ramesh Lal and Ashok Kumar, attended the meeting.

“Anil Kumar, Principal Secretary of the Backward Classes Department, was also present and we have discussed with him the data required by the commission,” said Justice Aggarwal.

The questionnaire prepared by the HBCC includes columns seeking information about people’s social, educational and economic status.

The questions pertaining to social status of people include whether others consider their caste/class as backward, if the castes and classes are mainly dependent on manual labour and castes and classes where participation of females in work in at least 25 per cent above the state average.

Information to be sought about educational status include castes where the number of children in the age group of 5 to 14 years who never attended school is at least 25 per cent above the state average, drop-out in this age group 25 per cent above the state average and proportion of matriculates is at least 25 per cent below the state average.

Similarly, questions about economic status include castes and classes where average value of family assets is at least 25 per cent below state average, kuccha houses at least 25 per cent above state average, source of drinking water is beyond half a kilometre for more than 50 per cent of households and castes where number of household loans is at least 25 per cent above the state average.

Agriculture landholding and total income of the family is also to be recorded for the purpose of determining economic status of the people.

When contacted, Principal Secretary Anil Kumar said that the government take a decision on modalities of collecting caste-wise population data once the commission‘s requirement was known.

“The government will see if the data of socio-economic census held in 2011 can be obtained and serve the purpose of the commission or what else is needs to be done to provide the caste population data,” he said.