Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 16 May: Special Intensive Revision (SIR) programme of the electoral rolls in Dehradun district is scheduled to begin from May 29. For this, the training of personnel and printing of enumeration forms is set to be carried out in the first phase. Chairing a special meeting in this regard, District Election Officer (DEO) and District Magistrate Savin Bansal stated that the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will begin a door-to-door verification and collection campaign from 8 June. The first draft of the revised electoral roll will be published on 14 July, while the final electoral roll will be issued on 15 September after disposal of claims and objections by 11 September.
An important meeting in this regard was today convened by DEO Savin Bansal with office-bearers of recognised political parties regarding the Special Intensive Revision programme. During the meeting, he urged the political parties to appoint BLA-2 representatives at every polling booth to ensure transparency and error-free completion of the revision process within the stipulated timeline.
The DEO also informed that, in accordance with the directions issued by the Election Commission, the printing of enumeration forms and training of personnel would be conducted from May 29- to June 7. Thereafter, from June 8 to 7 July 7, BLOs would visit all the households for distribution and collection of enumeration forms. During the same period, finalisation of polling booths, including incorporation of newly created polling stations, would also be completed.
He said the first draft of the electoral roll would be published on July 14. Claims and objections would be invited between July 14 and August 13, while their disposal would be ensured by September 11. The final electoral roll would be published on September 15.
Bansal said the intensive revision of the electoral roll is an extremely significant stage in the democratic process. Along with inclusion of all the eligible voters, names of the absent, shifted and deceased voters would also be removed from the rolls. He informed that a total of 13,80,800 voters are presently registered across all 10 Assembly constituencies of Dehradun district.
Under the pre-SIR campaign, mapping of 11,01,437 voters, accounting for 79.77 per cent of the total electorate, had been completed till May 16, while the mapping process for the remaining 2,79,363 voters is still in progress.
Emphasising on transparency in the electoral roll revision exercise, Bansal said appointment of BLA-2 representatives at every booth through the Assembly-level BLA-1 representatives of political parties is essential. He informed that the district presently has 1,882 polling stations, for which the BJP has appointed 1,836 BLA-2 representatives, the Congress has appointed 1,443 and the CPI has appointed 378 representatives.
He also stated that the authorised BLA-2 representatives would coordinate with the BLOs at their respective polling stations and assist in scrutiny, correction and other electoral roll-related works.
It was further informed that, in accordance with Election Commission guidelines, lists of absent, shifted and deceased voters along with Forms 9, 10, 11, 11-A and 11-B would also be shared with the political parties. These lists are also being made available to BLA-2 representatives through BLOs at polling stations.
The DM said that the political parties, the BLAs and the citizens can access voter registration and voter card-related information through the ECI-Net platform prescribed by the Election Commission. The citizens can also obtain information from their respective BLOs through the “Book a Call with BLO” facility available on the application. In addition, assistance may also be sought through the toll-free Election Office helpline number 1950.
Bansal directed all the Electoral Registration Officers to organise regular meetings with the political parties in their respective Assembly constituencies to disseminate information regarding the SIR programme. He also instructed them to ensure inclusion of all the eligible persons in the electoral rolls and maintain effective coordination between BLOs and BLAs so that the revision exercise can be completed in a transparent, error-free and time-bound manner.
Among those present in the meeting included Additional District Election Officer and CDO Abhinav Shah, ERO Smrita Parmar, Sushil Kumar Gupta, Dharmesh Rawat, Naresh Chauhan, Naveen Rawat, RS Parihar, Uday Singh Pundir and Uma Naresh Tiwari from the BJP, Satendra Singh and Satendra Chaupda from the BSP, Chaudhary Ravindra Kumar from the Aam Aadmi Party, and Ashish Kumar, Shailendra and Gajendra Vikram Shahi from the Congress. Electoral Registration Officers from all the Assembly constituencies also participated in the meeting through virtual mode.
