Bengaluru: The cabinet Thursday said disciplinary action will be taken against officials and staff who fail to conduct tasks assigned to them under the social and educational survey, popularly known as the caste census.Following concerns over the slow pace of the survey, affected by technical glitches and server issues, law and parliamentary affairs minister K Patil claimed that the situation had improved Thursday. The survey, conducted by Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, began on Sept 22 and is scheduled to continue until Oct 7. “It has been decided to take disciplinary action against govt officials and staffers who are not performing or attending duties assigned to them for the social and education survey,” Patil said after the cabinet meeting. “The authority to punish errant enumerators in Greater Bengaluru Authority area is the GBA commissioner.” He said similar powers will be delegated in other districts as well. Chief minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to meet deputy commissioners of all districts and CEO of all zilla panchayats on Friday through video conferencing. He is expected to give the necessary directions at the meeting. Patil said disciplinary action will follow service rules. Technical issues with the survey were also discussed at the cabinet meeting. “It is true that there were server issues on the first and the second day, but feedback suggests things have improved today,” Patil said. Enumerators visiting households faced glitches with the survey app, officials said. Delays initially arose due to the handbook not reaching enumerators on time, while server problems, OTP generation failures, and network issues in several areas continued to affect data collection. Officials said the survey faced delays in Greater Bengaluru, where five new corporations have been formed, due to training and preparation needs. The exercise involves 1.7 lakh enumerators, a huge majority of whom are govt schoolteachers. To address issues of residents not being at home during the survey or any grievance, a dedicated helpline (8050770004) has been set up. Citizens can also participate online, officials said.
