Punjab’s first-ever “Drug and Socio-Economic Census 2026”, launched to assess the “extent of the drug problem” in the state, has triggered a political storm with teachers conducting the exercise alleging that a large chunk of the questionnaire resembles a feedback survey on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s schemes ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.The exhaustive survey questionnaire contains nearly 120 questions — including sub-questions and drop-down options — to be asked from every household. Of the nearly 70 mandatory basic questions, at least 40 are directly linked to the Bhagwant Mann government’s welfare schemes and governance record.Defending the inclusion of such questions, Amit Talwar, Special Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayats, and nodal officer for the Drug Census, told The Indian Express: “The questions on government schemes have been included so that we can take suggestions for betterment. The drop-down questions are asked only if a person answers ‘Yes’ to the initial question. Only then the number of questions exceeds 100.”From the 300 units of free electricity scheme and Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra to Aam Aadmi Clinics, free bus travel for women, Mukh Mantri Maavan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana and even the CM Yogshala scheme, the survey repeatedly seeks public feedback on the government’s flagship initiatives.Teachers deployed as enumerators, however, say the exercise has “little to do with drugs” and more to do with “gauging voter mood”.“Hardly anyone is accepting from their own mouths that he or his family member takes drugs. So he simply says ‘No’ when asked if anyone in the family has a drug problem. The entire village knows that a family’s son takes drugs but when the family says ‘No’ during the survey, we have to record ‘No’ as their response,” said a teacher from Fazilka district.“Instead we are spending 50-60 minutes on each family to collect their feedback on the government’s schemes which is not our job. So what is the authenticity or relevance of this survey?” the teacher added.Questions on schemes dominate surveyStory continues below this adThe survey asks respondents whether they support the government’s anti-drug campaign “Yuddh Nasheyan Viruddh” and whether it has impacted drug abuse in their area.It also asks whether families have benefitted from the 300-unit free power scheme, Aam Aadmi Clinics, pension schemes, free bus travel for women, Tirath Yatra and doorstep delivery of government services through the “Sarkaar Tuhade Dwar” initiative.One question reads: “Do you get a 24-hour power supply? Has the power situation in Punjab improved after the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government came to power?”Another asks respondents to list the “top five works” of the Bhagwant Mann government and identify issues the state government should prioritise in future.Story continues below this adThe questionnaire also asks people which services they received “for the first time” under the Mann government and whether similar benefits were available under previous governments.In some cases, enumerators have been instructed to actively promote government schemes during the survey itself.One such question reads: “Has any family member benefitted from CM Yogshala scheme to avail free-of-cost yoga trainer?” If the answer is “No”, the enumerator is instructed to explain the scheme and ask whether the respondent would be interested in learning yoga free of cost.Teachers conducting the survey say respondents routinely deny drug use within their families, making the exercise ineffective for assessing the scale of addiction.Story continues below this ad“This is a pre-election survey which the AAP will use in coming polls, and this should have been done by AAP workers, not teachers,” said a teacher-enumerator from Amritsar.“No one says my child takes drugs. When we ask, ‘Does someone in your family take drugs’, they say ‘No’ and further drop-down questions on drugs are not even asked. Then the only questions that remain are mostly on feedback related to the government’s schemes,” the teacher said.Another teacher from Ludhiana said: “The survey is so lengthy that people run away when we say it will take 40-50 minutes. In some cases, the head of the family answers for all and the rest refuse to participate.”“Then no one says that he or his child takes drugs. When the survey is submitted, AI software rejects it and says it is poor quality. When we request the person to redo it, he says he can’t spare so much time again. It’s all an eyewash going on,” the teacher added.Story continues below this adEnumerators have been provided mobile phones with AI-enabled software that voice-records responses. Teachers say survey entries are pushed into a “poor quality” category if responses are vague or unclear, and enumerators are not paid for such submissions despite being promised Rs 250 per household.“Even the national Population Census 2027, currently underway, has just 30 questions but no one really wants to answer 120 questions,” said another enumerator from Fazilka.Migration, loans and family profilingApart from drug-related queries, the survey also collects detailed socio-economic information from households, including religion, caste, sub-caste, income, loans and migration patterns.If a family member lives abroad, respondents are asked why the person migrated, when they left, whether loans were taken to send them overseas and whether those loans have been repaid.Story continues below this adQuestions linked to drugs include: “Are you having an issue of drug addiction?”, “Is drugs an issue in your area?”, and “Do you know any place in your neighbourhood where drugs are available?”If a respondent answers “Yes” to drug use, another set of questions opens up on reasons for addiction, treatment history and rehabilitation.Opposition calls it ‘AAP’s pre-poll exercise’Opposition parties have accused the AAP government of using the “drug census” to collect political feedback and voter data ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said: “This is not a Drug Census but an election-oriented exercise to know feedback of people on its own governance, to extract voter details and to test its own waters before 2027.”Story continues below this adPunjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring questioned the credibility of the exercise.“Will an addict ever say he takes drugs? Will a father ever say this about his son?” Warring said.Govt defends exerciseThe Punjab government has maintained that the exercise is aimed at understanding the socio-economic dimensions of drug abuse in the state.While announcing the survey on April 1, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had said it would cover 65 lakh households across Punjab within three months to “understand the extent of the drug problem in the state”.Story continues below this adTalwar said that around two lakh households had already been covered and one lakh surveys had been cleared so far.“The head of the family can answer for the entire family but the basic details of all members have to be filled. If the AI software rejects responses due to poor quality, we get them checked manually also,” he said.Tarunpreet Singh Sond, the minister incharge of Punjab government’s department of rural development and panchayats, which is conducting the Census, did not respond to multiple calls and messages.