Urges federal government to ensure transparency, reliability in the process
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali has urged the federal government to take necessary measures to make the 6th Population Census credible by developing a mechanism to make the block-wise information that would be compiled on daily basis and should be made accessible to the general public.
He expressed these views in a DO letter he has written to Federal Minister Ishaq Dar the other day.
The chief minister said, “The exercise of undertaking the 6th Population census is a gigantic task which requires concentrated efforts and resources. It is extremely important to accurately count our citizens, as our fiscal and other planning would be based on this data. We need to ensure that each and every citizen is counted and that there is a no exaggeration of numbers.”
The chief minister urged Dar to hold this exercise in an efficient and transparent manner so that the true picture could be reflected.
He further said in his letter “this is necessary to ensure the restoration of the trust and confidence of people in the census.”
The chief minister also said that in order to conduct the 6th Population Census in a reliable manner the necessary measures must be taken in accordance with the law.
Murad Ali has recommended “the summary of the block-wise census information that would be compiled on daily basis on the Population Census form REN-2 shall be made accessible to the general public, by hosting it on the Website of the Statistics Division. It should also be made available in the office of the District Census officer for public security”.
The other recommendations were “a mechanism needs to be devised to allow the general public to lodge their complaints; a body should be formed at the federal/provincial levels for redressal of these grievances and the compulsory condition of having CNIC to be counted needs to be relaxed as there are many other forms of identification available to prove the identity of the people, which can be utilised in case of those persons who do not have CNIC.”
“This will ensure that the exercise is conducted in a transparent manner and becomes acceptable to all,” the letter concluded.
