Hyderabad, February 5: Congress senior leader and Advisor to Telangana Government (SC, ST, OBC & Minorities) Mohammed Ali Shabbir has urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to order a CB-CID inquiry into alleged irregularities in the Intensive Household Survey (IHS) conducted in 2014 by the then TRS (now BRS) government.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister on Wednesday, Shabbir Ali highlighted that a document titled ‘Samagra Kutumba Survey (SKS)’ or ‘IHS-2014’ is circulating with misleading information regarding the population of various castes, including SCs, STs, and BCs. He expressed concern that the figures from this survey were never officially released but were selectively leaked to the media, distorting caste demographics.
The survey, conducted on August 19, 2014, reportedly involved nearly four lakh government employees, including police personnel, for data collection. However, Shabbir Ali pointed out several irregularities, including the voluntary nature of data collection to avoid legal scrutiny and the absence of legal notification under the ‘Collection of Statistics Act, 2008’. He stated that personal details, including Aadhaar numbers, ration card details, bank information, LPG connections, and vehicle registrations, were collected across eight broad areas covering 94 items.
Despite an expenditure of Rs 100 crore on the survey, the results were never tabled before the Assembly. Shabbir Ali raised suspicions of financial misappropriation and alleged that sensitive citizen data might have been sold to private entities, leading to a breach of privacy.
He also noted that the same document, with fabricated caste figures, is now being circulated on social media to create unrest following the release of the Telangana government’s socio-economic caste survey on February 4, 2025.
Calling for strict action, Shabbir Ali demanded that those responsible for misusing public funds and compromising citizens’ data be held accountable. He urged the government to investigate whether private entities accessed the collected information.
Emphasising the gravity of the issue, he urged the Chief Minister to take immediate steps to ensure transparency and accountability in handling public data. (eom)
