In a first, it will register exodus to and from the state, which political parties peg at 17-20% of the total population, and the growth of single women.
The current poverty and caste census drive, launched on Sunday, will be long remembered for incorporating two unique features to map the shifting socio-economics of Maharashtra.
In a first, it will register exodus to and from the state, which political parties peg at 17-20% of the total population, and the growth of single women.
The objective behind the first is evidently to zero in on vulnerable districts that record the highest migrations.
“We are not looking at migrations from a political aspect but in terms of economics. The idea is to evaluate trends within the state. If we come to know that there is a sizeable migration from the agriculture sector to cities, it will help address some shortcomings in its development. There could be multiple reasons leading people to abandon rural areas and head to urban centres,” said a senior official in the ministry of rural development.
Gender equality is another emphasis of the door-to-door census, to be undertaken in two phases by 70,000 employees till December 31. Not surprises, it has introduced a column to record the number of single women and divorcees.
According to minister for rural development Jayant Patil, “The main objective of the census on poverty and caste is to evaluate the shortcomings in socio-economic sectors. The various schemes launched by the state and the Centre will be effectively implemented to strengthen areas lacking in development and uniform growth.”
The caste census, introduced after much wrangling at the Centre, is expected to help determine the population of other backward castes (OBC), apart from scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST), since it has provisions for sub-castes.
Caste is essential to determine budgetary allocations, based on poverty levels and development index.
Overall, the human development index will be central to the planning and execution of policies once the census provides the exact statistics by year-end. It will encompass all aspects like education, health and gender equality. The results will be mirrored in Budget 2012.
The recently concluded census had put the population of the state at 11.24 crore.
As per the 2002 statistics, the number of below poverty line families is 45 lakh, working out to about two crore individuals.
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