The district administration also directed officials to seek clarification from their subordinate staff and submit detailed, fact-based reports along with supporting documents

Ghaziabad: : The district administration has issued show cause notices to five officials whose performance was found to be well below the target set during a recent review of preparations for the ongoing census exercise.According to officials, a review of the House Listing Block (HLB) work revealed a substantial gap between the number of blocks allotted and the number of blocks completed in many urban and semi-urban areas of the district. The Administration found that despite repeated instructions and monitoring, progress in these areas was well below expectations.District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mandar directed officials to explain the reasons for the poor progress in their respective jurisdictions and warned that negligence in completing census duties could attract action under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948, besides departmental disciplinary proceedings.Data reviewed by the district administration showed that in Modinagar, only 96 out of 253 allotted HLBs were completed, while in Khoda Municipality, 383 out of 1,040 allotted blocks were completed. Loni Municipality reported that 842 out of 1,393 HLBs were completed, while only 83 out of 173 allotted blocks in Muradnagar recorded progress. The performance of Loni tehsil administration was also found deficient, only 62 out of 152 HLBs could be completed.In a notice issued to the officials concerned, Mandar described the pace of work as “extremely slow and unsatisfactory” and said it was not in line with the targets set by the state and central government. He also said that the Chief Secretary had expressed displeasure over the slow progress of census preparations in some areas.Officials said the administration has held several review meetings and has repeatedly directed officials to closely monitor the work of enumerators and supervisors. However, the expected improvement was not visible on the ground. The notice said it appears that the authorities concerned have failed to ensure effective supervision and accountability among the field staff, resulting in delay in completion of the exercise.The district administration also directed officials to seek clarification from their subordinate staff and submit detailed, fact-based reports along with supporting documents. Officials said the replies would be carefully examined and if the explanations were found unsatisfactory, strict action could be initiated.The administration stressed that timely completion of the house listing phase is important for the smooth implementation of the nationwide census program and warned that any delay will be viewed seriously.