The door-to-door exercise for Phase I of Census 2027 concluded in the New Delhi district on Friday (May 15, 2026), covering 585 blocks. A total of 63,104 households were enumerated under the house listing and Housing Census in areas under the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Cantonment, according to a progress report seen by The Hindu.

“Only procedural work remains. The hand-drawn physical maps are being synced with the Digital Layout Mapping (DLM) and uploaded on the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) portal. This will be completed in a couple of days,” New Delhi District Census Officer Kapil Chaudhary said on Friday (May 15, 2026).

No new household entries will be made on the Houselisting Operations app from May 16. However, enumerators have been given seven days to submit the physical maps of their respective blocks and complete the syncing process with DLM on the CMMS portal.

The first digital household census exercise in the district began on April 16, with the door-to-door survey starting on April 20. It concluded on May 15 as scheduled, Mr. Chaudhary said. The district was divided into 10 charges across 585 blocks, each comprising an estimated 180-200 households and 600-800 persons.

For the rest of Delhi under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the self-enumeration process, which began on May 1, ended on Friday (May 15, 2026), with nearly 1.4 lakh people having self-enumerated so far. Mapping of houses will begin on May 16, followed by a door-to-door exercise across more than 45,000 blocks.

Enumerators will initially visit their assigned blocks to draw physical maps and geotag structures over the first three days. This will be followed by household visits, during which they will collect responses to a 33-question schedule on amenities. The survey includes details on construction material, sources of drinking water, cooking fuel, internet connectivity, and household composition.

Challenges

Mr. Chaudhary said that while a month is generally sufficient for enumerators to cover their assigned households, several challenges were faced in the initial phase despite an awareness campaign.

“Accessibility and entry in some societies and in highly secured areas such as government residences require coordination. Some enumerators faced allegations of fraud and were denied entry. We worked to resolve these issues,” he said. He added that over 25 queries related to enumerators and the census exercise were received at the census control centre.

During the exercise, nearly 16,500 census houses were found vacant, over 3,400 were locked, and more than 21,000 were being used for commercial or institutional purposes.

“For locked houses, enumerators make three visits before marking them as unavailable, as per rules. Notices are also pasted with contact details of enumerators and supervisors so that residents can reach out and complete the process upon return,” Mr. Chaudhary said.