Interview: 60% of houses in Hyderabad left out in first round of Telangana Caste Census: G Niranjan

Hyderabad: The second round of the Telangana caste survey in Hyderabad so far—the second round is taking place from February 16 to 28—showed that 60 to 70 per cent of homes have not been visited by enumerators. There has been a laxity on the part of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) said G Niranjan, the chairman of Telangana Commission for Backward Classes, in an interview with NewsMeter.

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

NewsMeter: Why is the second round of the caste census survey in Hyderabad showing such a discrepancy in data?

Niranjan: The data from Hyderabad is showing a discrepancy in the survey due to multiple reasons: people, enumerators and bureaucracy. All three factors have played at once in keeping many people out of the survey.

When it comes to people, there is a section of people who have shown resistance to answering questions. These people were not willing to give details of their possessions, money and properties. This has also led to a chain reaction of people not willing to come forward. There is another set of people who have been waiting for the enumerators but the enumerators never came. However, the sticker was found stuck outside their homes even though they never gave any details. Hence, when the survey results came out, many raised a hue and a cry as they were left out.

When it comes to the role of the enumerators. The survey in rural areas has been satisfactory. But in urban areas, it showed that the monitoring of enumerators was not up to mark. Supervision has been lacking even though every 10 enumerators had one supervisor.

Similarly, in the case of bureaucracy hurting the survey, the GHMC said, that a survey carried out by the former government under the leadership of former CM K Chandrashekar Rao showed that there were 19 lakh households in GHMC limits. In the caste census carried out now, it showed that there are 21 lakh households.

Despite the increase in number, the complaints from the GHMC limits are very high. This speaks of how the officials have taken the caste survey.

NM: You and other commission members are going door-to-door to ascertain the numbers. Why?

Niranjan: After the release of the Telangana Caste Census by the government, many from the urban areas have complained that they have not been included, it is not only the Backward Classes or the minorities. Those who wanted to be enumerated have reached out. To resolve this, the commission felt that it was important for senior members including me to go on the ground and understand what has gone wrong.

Now that we are going around, we find that 60 to 70 per cent of people in GHMC areas are not enumerated. This speaks very differently of the way the survey has been done in GHMC limits.

From the very beginning, there was resistance in the bureaucracy regarding the survey. In our first meeting, there were suggestions that the survey could be done with the voters' list. However, that will not fulfil the purpose of the caste survey since it requires going on the ground and collecting data in real time.

The commission insisted that the survey must be done with real-time data and we ensured that enumerators go door-to-door.

NM: In the second round of the survey with seniors like you on the ground, do you think all those houses that were missed will be covered now?

Niranjan: To claim that all will be covered would be an overstatement. But yes, maximum residents and their homes will be covered. The second round started from February 16 to 28, as decided by the government. Our commission members are going every day and speaking to the people. Some examples of what we have found include:

In Karwan, 50 to 60 per cent of the survey is done and 40 per cent is yet to be done. In Ramanthapur, 80 per cent has been completed.

This example shows the same pattern across Hyderabad and parts of Ranga Reddy district too. We had a meeting with zonal commissioners and they are employing the enumerators again for the survey.

NM: What is the outcome so far?

Niranjan: A total of 6,411 people called the government stating they were not included in the survey. Across the State, so far, 4,625 have enrolled for the survey which needs to be updated as we complete the survey on February 28. In Praja seva kendras, 4,227 have applied so far. There have been 398 forms downloaded so far, from the online application service.

We will only know the final numbers correctly as we complete this second round of the survey.

NM: There has been a worry about the misuse of the data being collected and that is also a reason for people to refrain from sharing details.

Niranjan: The data collected by the State government will be used for reservation, economic upliftment and for providing the needs of the sections who have been deprived. The data is safe and will not be misused by the government. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is very clear that this data is only for ensuring that those who have been deprived of benefits from government policies are now included.

Those who want to play mischief are spreading false rumours about the survey.

NM: Will the commission also scrutinise the role of GHMC officials and bureaucracy in conducting the survey?

Niranjan: For now, our main priority is completing the survey and ensuring maximum coverage for all those who want to participate. The Telangana Commission for Backward Classes can only recommend to the government. The role of each stakeholder in conducting the survey will be looked into later.

NM: The voters’ list of the Election Commission of India says that there are 4 crore voters in Telangana. However, the survey by the Telangana government says there are 3.54 crores.

Niranjan: In the voters’ list, discrepancies have been noted with the names in the city and also in rural areas. For that reason, the door-to-door survey shows the exact count of the people. The difference is 46 lakh in the total population. Even if we have missed a few, it will not be such a big number.

Data collected by the Telangana Caste Census survey

The Telangana caste census was done in November 2024 and the data presented by the government showed that:

The population of SCs is 61,84,319 at 17.43%

The population of STs is 37,05,929 at 10.45%

The population of BCs (other than Muslims) is 1,64,09,179 at 46.25%

The population of Muslims is 44,57,012 at 12.56%

The population of OCs is 56,01,539 at 15.79%

The total population is 3,54,77,554 lakh at 100% of residents surveyed

The total number of males is 1,79,21,183 at 50.51%

The total number of females is 1,75,42,597 at 49.45%

The total number of third genders is 13,774 at 0.04%

The extension period till February 28 will bring changes in the data as those who have not been enumerated are now being done in the second round of the survey.