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Unlike Bengal, Kerala may update Population Register
Why in news?
- Kerala may update the National Population Register (NPR) though the West Bengal government, which also opposes the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), has stalled it.
More in news
- West Bengal government withdrew all activities related to the NPR.
(1) Census Cell of the Home and Hill Affairs Department had communicated to the officials concerned that all activities regarding the preparation/updating of the NPR have been suspended.
(2) No activity regarding NPR may be taken up without the prior clearance from the State government, it informed the officials.
- Anti-NPR campaigners had criticised the register as the first step towards the preparation of the National Register of Citizens.
- NPR in Kerala:
(1) Updating of NPR scheduled between April 15 & May 29, 2020: The register will be updated along with house listing & housing census to be carried out in the State.
(2) Slum areas: The details of slum areas in each municipality will have to be obtained in connection with the first phase of the census and the updating of the NPR, said a communication issued by the Director of Census Operations, Kerala.
(3) NPR Objective, as per the website of the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India: to “create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country. The database will contain demographic as well as biometric particulars.”
(4) Mandatory for every “usual resident of India” to register: usual resident is a person who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next 6 months or more- as per website.
(5) Issued before row: the notifications in Kerala on updating of the NPR were issued before the controversy over the CAA surfaced.
(6) No directive to Stop: There has not been any directive from the State government regarding stoppage of the NPR, as per officials.
Sources
The Hindu