PMC to take legal action against staff ignoring census duties

Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will start to file criminal cases and also initiate action like suspension against staff who fail to attend to their census duties.

The decision was taken during a review meeting on Tuesday. PMC officials said the review focused on jurisdiction areas where work in house listing blocks (HLBs) — or enumerator blocks — has either not commenced or is progressing slowly. “The census work is high priority and important. Irresponsible behaviour will not be tolerated,” said PMC commissioner Naval Kishore Ram.

A PMC official said in a statement on Tuesday that census work has commenced in 60% of PMC blocks. Work has commenced in only 50% of the blocks in Nagar Road, Yerawada-Wagholi, Dhole Patil Road, Aundh-Baner and Sinhagad Road ward offices.

Chief officials have been directed to take necessary measures within two days to ensure that work in 100% of the 11,000 blocks is initiated via the online mobile application. The chiefs must immediately contact govt and semi-govt offices staff assigned to census duties. The staffers should report to their respective jurisdictions via call.

The statement said many personnel from the PMC’s primary education department as well as the general municipal staff have not yet reported for census duties. The teachers working on a contractual basis under the primary and secondary education departments will be attached to census duties. If required, their contractual tenures will be increased so that they can be roped in as enumerators.