Field survey for Bihar caste-based headcount completed: Officials

Officials have confirmed the completion of the field survey for the ongoing caste-based headcount in Bihar.

District authorities across the state have intensified the process of digitally recording the data collected during the field survey on the BIJAGA (Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana) app, they said.

All District Magistrates (DMs), who are also the principal census officers, have already given written declaration to the General Administration Department (GAD), the government's nodal agency, that the second phase of the survey for filling up pro forma on the 17-point socio-economic indicators, including caste, has been completed in their respective districts.

"The BIJAGA app has been created for digitally recording the data collected during the field survey of the exercise. Presently data entry work is being done through the Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (BELTRON), a government of Bihar undertaking. Services of technical experts are also being taken to digitally record the data at the earliest", said a senior officer of the GAD on the condition of anonymity.

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Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh told PTI on Sunday that "data of 10,63,040 families, out of a total 13.69 lakh, of Patna district has so far been digitally recorded/uploaded on the BIJAGA App. It means 77.65 per cent of data from Patna district has so far been uploaded. The remaining data will be uploaded by this evening".

All officials and technical experts concerned have been given instruction to expedite the data entry process and complete it by this evening (Sunday), he said.

It is believed that the GAD has asked districts to complete the exercise of digitally recording the data on the BIJAGA app by Sunday.

Bihar Chief Secretary Amir Subhani recently held a meeting with the DMs of all districts through video conferencing and directed them to complete the data entry work expeditiously.

The Supreme Court on August 7 refused to stop the Bihar government's ongoing caste survey and said it will hear on August 14 a plea challenging the Patna High Court's verdict upholding the validity of the caste survey.

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On August 1, the Patna High Court had dismissed all petitions challenging the conduct of a caste survey in Bihar by the state government.

The first phase, under which a household counting exercise was taken up, was conducted by the state government in January this year. On April 15, the second phase of the survey commenced, focusing on gathering data related to people's caste and socio-economic conditions.

The entire process was planned to be completed by May this year. However, on May 4, the high court had paused the caste census. The Bihar government will spend Rs 500 crore from its contingency fund for the exercise.

(With agency inputs)