High-rise buildings cannot be counted as one house: CM

Enumerators still using pencil to fill forms despite PBS instructions

KARACHI: Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has taken exception to reports that high-rise buildings, housing numerous apartments, were being listed as a single house in the house count exercise of the sixth population census.

According to him, if these reports are true, this is wrong and against the assurances given to him by Census Commission.

He said this while talking to the media just after attending the American Business Council (ABC) roundtable meeting at a local hotel on Thursday.



He said he had written a letter to federal minister Ishaq Dar and had requested him to take necessary measures to make the census credible. “Mr Dar had assured me that he would ensure transparency [of the exercise],” he said.

He added that the provincial census commissioner had also told him during a briefing that the apartments or multiple residential accommodations would be counted separately, which is why it was wrong to mark them as one house. “Let us see what they are doing and we would get [it] verified,” he said, adding that there would be no compromise on the transparency and accuracy of the census exercise.

Rule of the pencil

Meanwhile, despite the clear instructions issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) not to use pencil in house listing and census exercise, enumerators in many areas of Karachi continued with the practice, violating the rules defined by government.



The spokesperson for PBS said that all the commissioners in Sindh and other districts have to make sure that forms are not filled in pencil. On the other hand, people from various areas protested against enumerators for filling the house counting form in pencil.

Residents fear their data will later be changed. "It looks like the enumerators are working under a proper guideline to fill the form and later [they] change it," said Mahar Zaidi, a resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

According to officials, dozens of complaints have also been received by the Karachi commissioner, too. Speaking to the media, Commissioner Ejaz Ahmed Khan said he will look into the matter and take action against those who violate the rules.



CM sets up census complaint cell

The CM has set up a 'Census Complaint Cell' at CM House, which has two landlines and as many fax numbers.

The chief minister has established the Census Complaint Cell at CM House in connection with public complaints regarding ongoing census activities across Sindh and coordinate with census authorities.

The cell will be receiving public complaints daily from 8am till 10pm on landline numbers 021-99207350 and 021-99202180 and fax numbers 021-99202007 and 99202000.

The chief minister has posted deputy secretary M Aslam Soomro to supervise the working of census complaint cell.