SHILLONG, March 6: Preparatory activities for the upcoming Census 2027 gathered momentum in Meghalaya with a meeting chaired by State Nodal Officer for Census, Pooja Pandey, at the Main Secretariat here on Friday.
The meeting brought together Deputy Commissioners and Principal Census Officers from various districts, along with officials of the Directorate of Census Operations, to review preparations and outline the roadmap for the nationwide exercise.
Initially scheduled to be conducted in 2021 in two phases—House Listing and Housing Census, followed by Population Enumeration—the Census of India was postponed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The exercise is now scheduled to be carried out in 2027 and will be conducted in digital mode, marking a significant step towards modernising the census process.
The meeting began with a welcome address and introductory remarks by Dr Pandey, who is also the Commissioner and Secretary to the Meghalaya government. She highlighted the scale and importance of the census exercise and emphasised the need for effective coordination among all stakeholders.
A detailed presentation was delivered by Subhasish Chatterjee, Joint Director of Census Operations, Meghalaya, who briefed participants on the different components and timelines associated with the census process.
During the presentation, emphasis was laid on the timeline for the House Listing Operation (HLO). The self-enumeration phase will be carried out from May 1 to May 15, 2026, followed by house-to-house listing operations from May 16 to June 14, 2026.
Officials said that these operations have been notified by the General Administration Department and will also be notified in the Gazette of Meghalaya. The meeting also discussed preparations for training census functionaries at different administrative levels.
Dr Pandey said that the census is a massive administrative exercise involving personnel across multiple levels of government, as well as various state departments and the Directorate of Census Operations. She stressed that strong coordination and timely preparations would be crucial for the smooth conduct and successful completion of the census during both phases.
