Census: A year late, and no counting

SC asked to take suo motu against govt’s failure to conduct census.

ISLAMABAD: Former lawmaker Marvi Memon appealed to the Chief Justice on Wednesday to take a suo motu notice against the government’s failure to conduct the census.

The population census was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011, but the process has yet to begin.

House listing, which precedes the main population census, was completed in May 2011. The exercise was marred by glitches, and subsequent delays.

“The last census conducted in Pakistan was in 1998, which is not only disputed but stands grossly outdated after a passage of 14 years because the population has grown at the rate of 2.3%,” Marvi said in her petition.

Since National Assembly seats are allocated on the basis of population, in accordance with the last census officially published, credible elections can only take place following a credible, updated census, Memon said.

Electoral, budgetary and development decisions on the basis of a disputed, outdated census is already creating severe inter-provincial disharmony, she said.

“… I urge you to take suo motu notice and direct the federal government to immediately conduct a population census,” Memon requested the chief justice.

“If the population census is not conducted before the one-year anniversary of the housing census, the latter will become redundant,” she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2012.