Sindh population is 61m: CM

Challenges 2017 headcount of 47.8m, demands more share for province

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday said that census of 2017 was incorrect as it shows population of the province at 47.8 million whereas as per Unicef survey, it stands at 61.04 million.

"If the population of the province is counted at 61.04 million, the share of the province in the national resources would go up from about 24 per cent to 29 per cent," he said while addressing a press conference at CM House. He was accompanied by provincial ministers Nasir Shah, Taimur Talpur and Murtaza Wahab.

Read: Sindh dismayed over CCI’s decision

Shah presented a dissenting note at the Council of Common Interest meeting four days ago, saying that the census of 2017 was conducted after 19 years of 1998 census but it became controversial soon after declaration of its provisional results.

He added that the census, being part of Federal Legislative List Part-II, was dealt by CCI because it sets the parameters for the distribution of resources between the Centre and the federating units.

Recalling the CCI meetings, Shah said that it was decided that one per cent of census blocks would be verified. A similar suggestion had also been given from the Senate and the senators had also prepared a document but the federal government in CCI had vowed to verify five per cent of the blocks.

Read more: CCI sets aside Sindh’s objections, approves census results

Shah was of the view that in the last CCI meeting held in the tenure of PML-N government on May 27, 2018 the Statistics Division told that they could not verify five per cent of the blocks, therefore it was decided to refer the matter to the parliament.

The chief minister disclosed that in the Census 2017 it has been said that Sindh has a total 8.4 million households with 5.64 persons per house which constituted a population of 47.85 million. "As per Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey undertaken by all the provincial governments in coordination with Unicef the average household for Sindh is 7.2 persons per household," he said and added based on the Unicef survey the total population of Sindh would come to 61.04 million as opposed to 47,85 million in Census 2017."

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2021.