NEW DELHI: The Centre has rebuffed an attempt to secure an OBC headcount in the population by cold-shouldering a plea to rescue the data of the socio-economic caste census (SECC) that has been lying in disuse for over six years.It is learnt that the “national commission for sub-categorisation of OBCs” lobbied the Centre to put the SECC data to use. The subject was discussed with the government and the Registrar General of India but there was no positive indication from the government. Since then, the Justice Rohini panel has got another extension but without the assurance that it will be handed the SECC data.With the government having refused to enumerate the OBCs in the 2021 decennial census starting in April, the reluctance to move on the SECC means blowing an opportunity to collate caste-wise population count. The decennial census only collects the specifics of SCs, STs and religious identity.On Thursday, the contentious subject got a fresh lease of currency after the Bihar assembly passed a resolution seeking a caste-wise census in 2021. The Maharashtra assembly has already passed a Bihar-like resolution while Biju Janata Dal raised the demand in Lok Sabha this month. Interestingly, then home minister Rajnath Singh in August 2018 announced that 2021 census will enumerate OBCs but the Centre went back on it.Inserting the caste parameter in the census at this late stage may be difficult and the hope of Mandal advocates may now rest only on the SECC. The SECC, ordered by UPA-2, collected caste details of the households in addition to socio-economic parameters, in what was billed as the first backward caste census since independence. The last caste census, which gave details of OBC headcount too, was done in 1931.However, Modi government refused to process the caste dimension of the SECC. Owing to the campaign launched by RJD of Lalu Prasad ahead of 2015 Bihar polls, the Centre announced the constitution of an expert panel to analyse the SECC data. But the government never constituted the expert committee.According to sources, the Rohini panel suggested to the government that caste data will help in better sub-categorising the OBCs, which entails division of Mandal castes into sub-groups and apportioning of 27% reservation quantum among them.“If there has been such an elaborate exercise, its data should be used. Else, it will go waste. But the problem is that neither Niti Ayog nor social justice ministry nor the home ministry want to take responsibility for classification of castes as received in the survey,” said a senior official.