As the pandemic subsides and hopes of a census later this year resurfaced, a parliamentary committee on home affairs has recommended a qualitative change in the enumeration exercise “so that the country’s socio-cultural diversity can be truly understood.” be represented”.
“The committee is of the view that the census being a pan-India decadal exercise, the culture, traditions and diversity of different regions of the country should be presented with numerical data,” the report prepared by the department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Which is headed by Congress leader Anand Sharma, has said.
The panel’s 238th report was tabled in Parliament on Monday.
The Committee noted that there has been an increase in the number of questions in the census, but for some censuses, the annual reports have not been written by the registrars. The Committee recommended that the MHA may take up the matter with RGI to resume the publication of annual reports from the next census onwards.
“The committee has also recommended that a separate expert group should be constituted by the RGI, which will examine the census pattern since its inception and suggest measures to bring about qualitative changes in the practice so as to improve the socio-cultural development of the country. diversity can actually be represented in the census,” the report said.
The report has also flagged underutilization of funds by MHA in BE 2021-22. It has said that the MHA was able to spend only 42.89% of the total allocation till January 31, 2022 and has expressed dismay over the persistent under-utilisation of funds under the capital head especially under the head of “police”. This, it said, would hinder asset creation for the police forces.
It has also said that the allocation for border infrastructure has been increased from Rs 2,130.32 crore (BE 2021-22) to Rs 2,700.57 crore in the Revised Estimates (RE) phase of 2021-22, only 50% was spent. Out of 57 roads, 25 are part of ICBR Phase I, while 32 are part of ICBR Phase II. ICBR Phase II for construction of 104 new roads was part of the budget for 2020-21. The government also informed the committee that it is constructing or upgrading 32 helipads along the LAC.
“The ministry has sought an amount of Rs 3,637.92 crore from the finance ministry for border infrastructure plan in BE 2022-23 (estimated). The report said that despite underutilisation of funds allocated in RE 2021-22, the committee has failed to understand the reasons for demanding such higher allocation.
The government informed the committee that it was constructing 57 roads along the line of actual control Under the twin phases of the India-China border road project.
Even for the Border Area Development Program (BADP), it has said that only Rs 11.53 crore (as on December 31, 2021) was utilized against the allocated amount of Rs 565.71 crore in BE 2021-22 .
“The committee recommends that the Ministry should reconsider the requirement of funds for Police and Union Territories keeping in view various important schemes and after making actual assessment, with the Ministry of Finance for enhancement of allocation at Revised Estimate level. Must go on,” it added.