Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced that the state will conduct a fresh Socio-Economic and Educational Survey between September 22 and October 7. He rejected the previous report and stated
that the caste census carried out in 2015 had not been accepted by the government.
The Chief Minister said that the last exercise was carried a decade ago, a new survey had become essential to capture the present realities of society.
“Many religions and castes exist in society. There is diversity and inequality, too. The Constitution says everyone should be equal and social justice needs to be done,” the Chief Minister said during a press conference.
He stressed that the survey was a crucial step towards eliminating disparities and creating stronger foundations for democracy.
It has been learnt that the survey, which will be conducted by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, is expected to cover the state’s entire population of nearly 7 crore across two crore households, India Today reported.
As per the process, each household will be given a Unique Household ID sticker, with 1.55 crore stickers already affixed so far. Additionally, a questionnaire with 60 questions will be administered to capture details of the social, economic, political, and educational status of families.
Nearly 1.85 lakh government teachers will be deployed during the Dasara vacation to carry out the survey. Each teacher will receive an honorarium of up to Rs 20,000, bringing the total allocation for teachers’ remuneration to Rs 325 crores. The state has earmarked Rs 420 crores for the entire exercise, a sharp rise from the Rs 165 crores spent during the 2015 caste census.
Every household will be geo-tagged with electricity meter numbers, and ration cards and Aadhaar details will be linked to mobile numbers.
For those unwilling to disclose caste details to enumerators, options have been created to provide information either through a call to a dedicated helpline (8050770004) or online submissions.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urged citizens to extend full cooperation. “My humble request to every citizen of the state is to please participate in this survey. Please answer all the questions put forth by the enumerators truthfully and to the best of your knowledge. To help you prepare, Asha Karyakartas will visit your house in advance to provide the application form,” he said.
