Kendrapara: The 11th agriculture census which was postponed due to Covid-19 resumed in August 2022 but the drive moving at a snail’s pace has irked the farming community and the intellectuals of the district, as per a report. The census, which is held every five years, is quite crucial for the agrarian economy. Meanwhile, 10 months have passed since the census began in Kendrapara district but its implementation is quite disappointing with enumerators yet to cover 551 out of 1,591 revenue villages to be surveyed in the district.
Similarly, out of 140 enumerators, 12 are yet to start their work in areas under six blocks. The negligence in data collection has raised questions on the farm census, farmer leaders and local intelligentsia alleged. The matter came to the fore during a review meeting on the agriculture census held recently at the Collectorate here. The meeting presided over by ADM Nilu Mohapatra was attended by sub-collector Niranjan Behera and officials from the agriculture, revenue, and statistics departments. According to available information, 734 villages have been allotted to the Statistics department, 380 to the Agriculture department and 477 to the Revenue department. Altogether 140 officials are overseeing the implementation of census programme in nine tehsils of the district.
Meanwhile, the census drive started in 1,040 villages out of 1,591 revenue villages while it has been completed in 353 villages. Moreover, census data of 171 villages – just 16 per cent of the work of the census drive – has been uploaded in the portal. Farmer leader Gayadhar Dhal, Bidhu Bhusan Mohapatra, Bijay Parida, and local intellectuals Ganesh Chandra Samal and Radhakant Mohanty said that the agriculture census first started in the financial year 1971-72 in order to get a detailed picture of agriculture and farmers which drive the national economy. The prime objectives of the census is to know the amount of land under cultivation, land ownership and the types of crops suitable for cultivation on the particular land. This will help in providing irrigation facilities to the farmlands and better marketing facilities for the harvested crops. The current census which is 11th in a row has been digitised as mobile phones and tablets are being used during the drive. Enumerators participating in the drive are being provided with training beforehand so that they will not face any hassles during the census.
However, the census drive is allegedly being overlooked and neglected by the district administration. When contacted, ADM Mohapatra admitted that the survey has been slowed down for which the officials concerned have been pulled up during the review meeting. He said that show-cause notices will be issued to the officials who would be found delaying the survey
