National census: GBA told not to rope in BLOs; revenue officials to multitask for census, SIR, GBA elections

With the national census beginning on Wednesday, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has been instructed not to draw those who have been functioning as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the City, as enumerators for the census. BLOs in the city are drawn from the Education Department and other areas such as electricity utilities and ASHA workers. These BLOs are currently engaged in voter mapping for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

While corporation officials maintain that adequate staff have been allotted to each of the five city corporations, officials on the ground pointed to overlapping responsibilities. Revenue officials, who are handling census-related work, are also tasked with electoral roll revisions for the upcoming GBA elections and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), in addition to overseeing ongoing exercises such as e-khata processing and tax collection, all of which have strict timelines. E-khata applications in Bengaluru are processed within 2-5 days, with auto-approval if not cleared within five working days. The deadline for final e-khata issuance is generally seven days.