No ship clearance till census count: RGI

The Registrar General of India (RGI) has directed customs authorities not to issue clearances for Indian mercantile ships plying to foreign countries on the Census reference date until their crew members and boarders are fully counted.

The six-page order issued by Census Commissioner Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan on “enumeration of boats, ships, and sea-going vessels during the population enumeration phase of Census 2027” said it was customary to cover them to avoid omission.

On Indian mercantile ships plying between India and foreign countries, he said persons onboard, including foreigners, on such ships will be enumerated only if they are at an Indian port at 00:00 hours on the reference date.

The census reference date is the specific day and time to which all collected population data refers. According to a Government statement issued in June last year, “The reference date for Population Census 2027 will be 00:00 hours of the first day of March 2027”.

“As in the case of ocean liners from foreign countries, this population will also be enumerated by the special enumerator of the Port Trust/Collectorate of Customs as per the reference date and time of Census,” the order said.

“Customs authorities should be requested not to issue clearance for any ocean liner or mercantile ship on the reference date unless enumeration work of its crew members and boarders is completed,” it said.

The Census, the eighth since Independence, is being conducted in two phases: the first stage is known as ‘House Listing and Housing Census’, and the second stage is the ‘Population Enumeration’.

The population enumeration in Ladakh and snowbound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand shall take place from September 1 to 30, according to a gazette notification issued earlier this month.

For the rest of the country, the population enumeration will begin next year, a massive administrative undertaking that will use a digital-first framework to map demographics.

Under the guidelines, vessels undergoing enumeration will receive an official Enumeration Certificate. Customs officials will require a duplicate copy of this certificate before allowing any ship to leave port.

To count them, the Government would appoint officials from local port trusts and customs collectorates as special enumerators.

The circular covers several categories of maritime vessels, including Indian naval ships, commercial cargo carriers, foreign ocean liners, passenger ships, fishing boats, and lighthouse vessels.

For naval ships, special military or paramilitary officers will conduct the Census.

“Further, the naval ship population may be considered as belonging to an institutional household. Also, the naval ship population may be covered as a separate enumeration block(s) within the special charge (naval base),” it said.

The directive also covers riverboat populations. This group includes individuals who live on boats permanently and have no land residence, as well as those who live on water for only part of the year but reside on boats during the entire enumeration period. It, however, excludes operators of river ferries who maintain land residences during this timeframe.

“All boats found at ‘Ghats’ situated on the banks of rivers and other waterways during the enumeration period will be enumerated. Enumeration of boat population should not be kept pending until the last day. The enumerator of the village or enumeration block of the town where the ghat is situated will enumerate the persons living on the boats simultaneously with the population residing in the village/urban block,” it said.

In case of ocean liners coming from foreign countries, crew members and boarders found at any Indian port at the reference date and time of Census 2027 will be enumerated, it said.

“The enumeration of persons on board of such ocean liners will be carried out as per the reference date and time of the Census. Ocean liners which touch the port after 00:00 hours of the reference date or leave the port before 00:00 hours of the reference date will not be enumerated,” it said.

The order said officials of the Port Trust or the Collectorate of Customs should be appointed as special enumerators for this category of sea population.