Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 16 (ANI): Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar welcomed the decision to issue a gazette notification for the 16th Census with caste enumeration, and said that it will help the government in planning for the future.

Sukanta Majumdar said, 'We welcome this decision. It was pending since long time. Census will start from March 1, 2027. It will help the government in planning for the future after getting the data of the census.'

He alleged that CM Mamata Banerjee created an OBC-A category and gave reservation to Muslims.

'It is not a reservation on the basis of caste. It is a reservation based on religion. You cannot give a reservation on the basis of being Muslim because it is anti-Constitutional. So from back door Muslim reservation is being given. Karnataka tried to do it, which is anti-Constitutional. Mamata Banerjee had to give reservation to Muslims for vote bank so she is doing it from backdoor. In Bengal, there is 17 per cent reservation for OBC. Why is it not being increased when it is 27 per cent in the country? She is depriving the OBC and giving it to Muslims,' he added.

The Central government on Monday notified the population census, the process of which will begin in March 2027.

As per a gazette notification released by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 'In exercise of the powers conferred by Section three of the Census Act 1948 and in suppression of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs dated March 26, 2018, the Central Government declared that a census of the population of India shall be taken during the year 2027, as per a circular released by the Ministry of Home Affairs.'

The reference date for the census shall be March 1, 2027, except for the Union territory of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The reference date for the Union Territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will be October 1, 2026.

On June 15, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the preparations for the upcoming Census during a meeting in New Delhi along with Union Home Secretary, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG& CCI) and other senior officials.

Sharing the details in a post on X, Amit Shah said, 'Reviewed the preparations for the 16th Census with senior officials. Tomorrow, the gazette notification of the census will be issued. The census will include caste enumeration for the first time. As many as 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh census functionaries will conduct the operation with cutting-edge mobile digital gadgets.'

'The Census will be conducted in two phases. In phase 1, House Listing Operation (HLO), the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected,' he added.

Subsequently, in the second phase, Population Enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected. In the Census, Caste enumeration will also be done.

For Census activities, about 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh Census functionaries would be deployed. This is the 16th Census since its beginning and the 8ht since Independence. (ANI)