After Bihar, Andhra Pradesh kickstarts caste census
Information and public relations minister C Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna says the entire process will end before the notification for LS and Assembly elections is issued on or around February 15
The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday (January 19) launched a comprehensive caste census to enumerate all communities in the state.
Information and public relations minister C Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna said the census will last 10 days. If need be, it will be extended by four or five days, the minister told PTI.
Secretariat system
He said volunteers will visit each and every home to collect the caste details, which will be relayed to the village secretariat system.
Andhra Pradesh becomes the second state after Bihar to take up a caste census.
Krishna said officials in the village secretariat system will verify the accuracy of information collected by the volunteers and make corrections, if needed.
Goal of census
Every volunteer will cater to 50 households.
Krishna exuded confidence that the entire process will be completed before the notification for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections is issued on or around February 15.
The YSRCP government has set the caste census as a major goal and feels the enumeration can transform the living standards of people.
The minister said there were many castes which were yet to receive welfare schemes from the government and the census will help them address this issue.
Though the caste census was initially announced to cover only the 139 Backward Classes communities, its scope now includes all castes in Andhra Pradesh.
(With agency inputs)