CCI Permits to Conduct 7th Census Using GIS and Digital Tech

The Council of Common Interests (CCI) has approved carrying out the seventh Population & Housing Census, employing international best practices while using digital technology and the GIS. It was apprised that the housing census would be conducted before the population census. The 49th meeting of the CCI was chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday. He welcomed the Chief Ministers and congratulated the members of the CCI for the establishment of its permanent secretariat. The premier said that it manifests a collaborative spirit between the federal and provincial governments, and added that the federal government is fully committed to resolving national issues in consultation with all the federating units and stakeholders. He also mentioned that the frequency of these meetings can be increased as per the demand of the provinces. The CCI approved the conducting of the seventh Population & Housing Census and the establishment of the Census Monitoring Committee. This committee will be chaired by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, all the provincial Chief Secretaries, the Chairman of the NADRA, the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad, and other senior officials. It will oversee and monitor census activities to ensure expeditious, transparent, and credible census operations. PM Imran emphasized that government wants to have credible census data that can be used to initiate policies and projects for the welfare of citizens. The attendees of the meeting approved the Annual Report of CCI for FY 2020-21 and were informed that a total of six meetings had been conducted during FY 2020-21, during which 21 agenda items had been considered. Of them, 13 decisions had been implemented and six decisions are under process. While discussing the implementation status of previous decisions, the CCI was informed that an independent CCI Secretariat has been established with a budget of Rs. 110.928 million. The independent secretariat will facilitate effective coordination between the federal and provincial governments. The CCI also decided that additional water requirements for Karachi would be discussed by the committee formed to reconcile the views of the provinces at the political and technical levels and the issues related to water.