NPR Exercise in Tripura set to begin in May, 2020

Agartala, February 15, 2020:

The state of Tripura has consciously decided to avoid paper schedule method of collecting data in order to prevent any mismanagement in the data that will be collected in the ensuing census and NPR updation.

The process of listing information for both exercises will begin from May 16th next, said a highly placed source in the department.

In an exclusive interaction with this reporter, the source said that the entire process of population register and census will run side by side and it has been divided into two broad phases—HLO (House Listing Operations) and enumeration of the population.

“The first phase has been finalized to be completed by September 2020. Each of the states has been offered liberty to choose their period within this stipulated period and Tripura state-level census coordination committee headed by the Chief Secretary has given its nod to complete the exercise in between May 16 to June 29. The second phase of the exercise will be completed between February 9 to 28 2021 as uniformly across the country” the source added.

Charting details of the matter, he said, centrally the exercise will be executed in the mixed-mode method of data collection which includes paper schedule, mobile app survey by the enumerators and self enumeration which can only be accessed in the second phase.

But, in case of Tripura the state committee has consciously decided to execute the entire exercise through mobile app in order to avoid any paper work which presumed to have chances of mistake in the first phase, he added.

When asked of anticipated problems regarding the internet connectivity, he said, the mobile app system has also incorporated a system of off-line data storage if any internet related crisis emerges.

He also said that altogether 9062 enumerators would be engaged in the job who would directly report to their 1556 supervisors. “All the district magistrates including Municipal Commissioner Agartala AMC by virtue of posts have been appointed as the principal census officers in November last year.

"Apart from this there will be 81 charge officers who will take care of the operations in respective 58 blocks, 21 urban bodies and 4 zones of Agartala Municipal Corporation. They will be assisted by additional charge officers who have also received their charges this month” he said.

A meeting of the state committee has been also convened on Thursday last where a set of targets have been finalized by the committee. “Already 16 master trainers have been trained in Administrative Training Institute Kolkata who will train the field officers in the NPR exercise”, the source informed. Meanwhile, as per the new inclusions are concerned in the questionnaire, Adhaar number, driving license, place of birth of the family heads will be listed in the exercise.

The director of the census operations Tripura, PK Chakraborty said that NPR was a regular subsidiary exercise of the census and urged people to cooperate with the enumerators who will knock on every door in a couple of months.

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