India’s official urban map is set for an overhaul as the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (ORGI) has circulated a set of proformas to all states and union territories to update
the composition of Urban Agglomerations (UAs) for the forthcoming Census 2027. The proforma issued by Registrar General & Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan is designed to capture how cities have expanded, merged, or been reclassified since the last Census benchmark in 2011.
In a document issued by the ORGI, headed by Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, the directive asks states to list “Urban Agglomerations (UA) of Census 2011 which will continue in Census 2027 without any jurisdictional change(s) after Census 2011”, to propose “Urban Agglomeration (UA) of Census 2011 proposed to be dropped for Census 2027”, and to furnish “Details of Town/Village/OG/Part OG of Census 2011 which has been merged with any of the units of the Urban Agglomeration after Census 2011.” The circular was issued on August 22.
What the circular contains
The document lays out five reporting proformas that states and UTs have to fill out, each aimed at a different kind of change in urban status between 2011 and 2027. One proforma explicitly seeks details of “Urban Agglomerations (UA) of Census 2011 which will continue in Census 2027 without any jurisdictional change(s) after Census 2011”. Another requires officials to identify the “Urban Agglomeration (UA) of Census 2011 proposed to be dropped for Census 2027”. The proformas also include an instruction to enumerate “Details of Town/Village/OG/Part OG of Census 2011 which has been merged with any of the units of the Urban Agglomeration after Census 2011″, the fresh circular says.
Each proforma asks for standardised identifiers and context—population as per 2011, MDDS codes, area in square kilometres, and the relevant government notification or order in cases of mergers or jurisdictional changes.
The changes
As per the circulated proforma, its structure makes clear the categories of change the Census will record. Cities whose footprints are unchanged since 2011 will be carried forward as-is. Where municipal limits have expanded or nearby census towns and urbanised village outgrowths have effectively fused into the city, those mergers will be recorded against the relevant UA, supported by notification numbers and dates.
Conversely, any UA from 2011 that no longer meets the criteria—or has been reorganised—can be proposed for dropping. Finally, the forms open a channel to recognise entirely new agglomerations that have emerged over the last decade and a half as manufacturing corridors, IT clusters, and logistics hubs, catalysed rapid peri-urban growth.
Why it matters
Urban sprawl in India routinely spills past municipal limits into adjoining towns and urbanised village segments. By requiring states to update UAs’ continuous urban spreads anchored by a statutory town and including adjoining outgrowths and nearby census towns, the Census aims to capture the functional footprint of cities rather than just their legal boundaries. What appears in these proformas will influence how the 2027 enumeration counts and classifies millions of residents who live in urban belts, industrial townships, and rail colonies—areas that often function as part of the city but sit outside corporation limits.
UA classification underpins planning for transport connectivity, housing, sanitation, and water systems and can shape eligibility or prioritisation under central and state urban schemes. By explicitly asking states to list which 2011 agglomerations remain unchanged, which have seen mergers, which should be dropped, and which new clusters merit recognition for the first time in 2027, the circular sets the stage for a comprehensive refresh of the official urban map—one that better reflects where people actually live and commute today.
