Social and Educational survey: South and East corporations likely to face shortage of enumerators

The South and East corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) are expected to face a shortage of enumerators for the ongoing Social and Educational survey, the deadline for which has been extended by the State government till October 31, as the survey is progressing slow, specifically in the GBA limits.

To address this, the government, as recommended by the corporation commissioners, is planning to reallocate enumerators from other GBA corporations where staffing levels are higher or survey coverage has been comparatively better.

The shortage is mainly because a majority of the enumerators in these two corporations are school teachers, who will resume their regular teaching duties starting October 23. Moreover, the East Corporation has a high number of ‘locked houses’ or the households where enumerators went at least three times, but could not complete the survey as the residents were not available, sources said.  

During the meeting, where Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reviewed the survey progress, GBA Corporation Commissioners also highlighted the need for MLAs and political leaders to actively encourage residents to participate. The same was also requested previously by the Commissioners.

Officials noted that even when the Commissioners themselves visited households and apartment complexes, residents remained reluctant to take part. A senior official told The Hindu that he visited numerous households before submitting his report, but nearly 100 households still refused to cooperate. “If political representatives directly appeal to residents, at least some more people are likely to participate,” he said. 

The GBA officials have also recommended extending the working hours of enumerators by three hours, until 9 p.m., until the survey ends. “Despite the extension, progress in the GBA limits has been slow. So far, only about 40% of households have been surveyed over the past 15 days. With nearly 60% of households yet to be covered, completing the survey within the revised timeline will remain a challenge and hence working hours to conduct the survey should be increased,” the official said.