'Caste census': K'taka govt to take action against officials, staff not attending survey work

Bengaluru, Sep 25 (PTI) The Karnataka government on Thursday said disciplinary action will be taken against government officials and staff who are not conducting the Social and Educational Survey, popularly known as "caste census" assigned to them.

Amid concerns about the slow pace of the survey, with technical glitches and server issues affecting the data gathering, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said as per information, things had improved on Thursday.

The survey by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, which began on September 22, is scheduled to go on till October 7.

"It has been decided to take disciplinary action against the government officials and staff who have been deputed for the Social and Educational Survey that is underway, if they are not performing or attending their duty, as per the order. The authority to take action in the Greater Bengaluru Authority area has been given to the GBA commissioner," Patil told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

Asked about other districts, he said, "the orders will percolate to districts as well. The chief minister is holding a meeting with Deputy Commissioners of all districts and CEO of all Zilla Panchayats tomorrow through video conferencing, and he will give the necessary directions at the meeting." The minister said disciplinary action against errant officials will be in accordance with the service rules.

Patil said the technical issues that are being faced during the survey came up for discussion at the cabinet meeting.

"It is true that there were server issues on the first and the second day, but the information is that things have improved today," he said.

Enumerators, who are visiting door-to-door to gather data, have faced technical glitches with the App, which is being used for the survey at several places, sources said.

They said, while enumerators not getting the survey hand book on time caused the delay in some places initially; server issues, OTPs not getting generated, network issues have constantly affected the survey at several places.

According to officials, the survey has been delayed in the Greater Bengaluru area, where five corporations have been newly formed, on the request of the authorities, for training and necessary preparations.

The survey will see as many as 1.75 lakh enumerators, mostly government school teachers, covering around 7 crore people in approximately 2 crore households across the state.

The survey, at an estimated cost of Rs 420 crore, is being conducted "scientifically," with a 60-question questionnaire prepared for the exercise, according to officials. The commission is expected to submit its report to the government by December.

According to officials, each household will be geo-tagged using its electricity meter number and will be assigned a Unique Household ID (UHID).

During the data collection process, ration cards and Aadhaar details will be linked to mobile numbers.

For those who are not at home during the survey and to address grievances, if any, a dedicated helpline number (8050770004) has been set up. Citizens can also participate online, they added. PTI KSU KH