K’taka may freeze transfers of census staff till March 2027

Bengaluru: In line with the Centre's instructions to not transfer officials and staff assigned for Census duty until March 31, 2027, Karnataka govt is collecting details of employees from various departments before taking a final decision on the issue likely next week.Nearly 1.5 lakh govt employees are expected to be involved in the second phase of population enumeration scheduled to be conducted in Feb 2027.Karnataka State Government Employees' Association president CS Shadakshari confirmed that the Centre had instructed the state against transfers. "Employees are now awaiting a final govt order," he said.State govt employees are transferred after a two- or a three-year stint in a posting, usually during summer holidays. Duration of a posting varies from one dept to another.In an official communication issued by the revenue department (disaster management and services) on May 20, authorities were directed to submit details of trained and deployed census officials by May 23.The communication was sent to deputy commissioners of all districts, the chief commissioner of Greater Bengaluru Authority, commissioners of the five corporations under GBA and commissioners of all urban local bodies.According to the communication, the first of two phases of Census 2027 have been concluded in Karnataka. The self-enrollment process took place from April 1 to 15 while houselisting and housing census activities were carried out from April 16 to May 15.To streamline preparations, the state has asked authorities to furnish details of trained and deployed census officials within three days.