‘New census vital for social, economic uplift’

LAHORE
The decision for new census is good as date figures about population and other sectors are crucial for social and economic development, but the local bodies elections should not be delayed for the census.
These views were expressed by the speakers at Jang Economic Session on ‘Benefits of new Census’ on Wednesday. The panellists were Dr Ashfaq Hassan, Zahid Mubashar, Dr Qais Aslam, Farooq Hameed, Dr Hafeez-ur-Rehman and Tayab Ijaz Qureshi while the session was hosted by Sikindar Lodhi.
Dr Ashfaq Hassan said census was vital to estimate population and resolve issues and only assumptions were made about population growth after 1998 census. He said if new census was conducted by others instead of army, it could be questionable by public and international institutions. So, new census should be conducted by the army as all provinces try to show an increase in population to fetch maximum resources, he said. He believed census after every decade as per the Constitution could resolve problems.
Zahid Mubashar said rapid population growth was a major issue due to which social and economic issues had worsened. So, diagnosing the illness is vital for treatment, he added. He said census could exactly identify population size and helpful in resolving issues. He said no development work was possible without planning while population size played a vital role in planning. He suggested that statistics department and other institutions should work under supervision of army while better census results could acquire by giving training to the census conducting people. Census can play an important role in crime control and eradication of terrorism, he observed.
Dr Qaias Aslam said availability of facts and figures was important for business, investment and industry development. He said new census will helpful in improving business, training of workforce and long-term planning. He said information about the rich and poor and the youth is important for improvement in society. Farooq Hameed said assembly seats, distribution of resources, distribution of quota from federal to provinces were distributed on population base so that census should be conducted after every decade. He said census would be held in 2016 as decided by the council of common interest which is appreciable decision of the government but the concerns voiced by MQM and Baluchistan should be addressed before the census. He said according to estimates Pakistan population has increased by 49 per cent in 13 years.
Dr Hafeez-ur-Rehman said Pakistan was facing unequal distribution of public resources which had increased social and economic problems while census would redress all the issues. He said census would provide effective manpower planning and human resource development. He said census would helpful in resolving transport issue. He believed wastage of human resources and community rights were national dilemma while resolving them could stop rural urban migration.
Tayab Ijaz Qureshi said the population rate was important for economic growth and successful business, but due to delay in census, reliable population figures were not available, affecting business and investment.