The Centre is looking at the option of introducing a fresh exercise exclusively for “caste Census” in 2011. Government sources said that the move is under consideration of the home ministry after political parties like the RJD,SP, BSP opposed the proposal for introducing a caste count at the “biometric” stage in the ongoing Census 2011 exercise, arguing that the OBCs and SC/STs in backward and far-flung regions will not be able to visit the biometric centres and may even face discrimination there. The government had sought views of political parties on the issue. However, a decision on how and when to conduct a caste census will be a taken by the government by arriving at a political consensus on the issue.
Till now the government had been looking at two options of introducing the caste count either during the “headcount” in the second phase of the ongoing census exercise or at the biometric stage starting November 2010 when camps will be set up collect fingerprints and iris scan of residents.
“If there is no consensus on both these fronts, then we may need to introduce a separate exercise next year for a caste census,” a government official said. The official pointed out that such a move would cost the government Rs 4,000 crores and require the participation of 28 lakh officials once again. “We will need to work from scratch from printing of forms and conducting the caste enumeration exercise,” the official added.
While the Opposition and OBC parties are mounting pressure on the Manmohan Singh government to take up the caste headcount in the second phase of the census exercise, instead of the biometric stage, the Left parties have proposed that the caste census should ensure a “scientific count” of Other Backward Classes (OBC).
The Group of Ministers constituted to look into the matter had earlier recommended that caste information can be recorded in the last stage of Census 2011 when biometric information will be gathered.