National census: GBA told not to rope in BLOs; revenue officials to multitask for census, SIR, GBA elections

With the national census beginning on April 1, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has been instructed not to draw those who have been functioning as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the City, as enumerators for the census. BLOs in the city are drawn from the Education Department and other areas such as electricity utilities and ASHA workers. These BLOs are currently engaged in voter mapping for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

With the national census beginning on Wednesday, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has been instructed not to draw those who have been functioning as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the City, as enumerators for the census. BLOs in the city are drawn from the Education Department and other areas such as electricity utilities and ASHA workers. These BLOs are currently engaged in voter mapping for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

While corporation officials maintain that adequate staff have been allotted to each of the five city corporations, officials on the ground pointed to overlapping responsibilities. Revenue officials, who are handling census-related work, are also tasked with electoral roll revisions for the upcoming GBA elections and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), in addition to overseeing ongoing exercises such as e-khata processing and tax collection, all of which have strict timelines. E-khata applications in Bengaluru are processed within 2-5 days, with auto-approval if not cleared within five working days. The deadline for final e-khata issuance is generally seven days.

Officials said this convergence of duties is likely to pose a challenge, mainly during the enumeration phase beginning April 16, when enumerators are required to undertake door-to-door visits.

On the first day of the exercise, April 1, officials said appointment notices have been issued to enumerators across corporations. The staff are expected to acknowledge and return these on April 2, after which the GBA will have clarity on the actual number of enumerators available on the ground, as against those allotted.

According to sources, the total requirement across the GBA stands at 3,405 supervisors and 20,308 enumerators. Allocation figures, however, show 3,651 supervisors and 21,480 enumerators — exceeding 105% of the requirements. Officials noted that while the numbers indicate a surplus on paper, the effective availability of the enumerators could be constrained, as many are drawn from departments already handling parallel duties.

The West corporation has been allotted the highest number of supervisors, with over 1,000, along with more than 5,800 enumerators, while the East corporation has the lowest allocation, with just over 3,200 enumerators.