Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 2 Aug: Election Commission of India has announced a substantial revision in remuneration for personnel involved in electoral duties across the country. The annual honorarium for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) has been doubled from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000, while BLO supervisors will now receive Rs 18,000 annually, up from the previous Rs 12,000. This development marks a major stride towards acknowledging the essential work done by grassroots-level electoral staff.
Further enhancing support for electoral operations, the Commission has also increased the incentive for voter list revision carried out by BLOs from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000. In a first, Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) serving as Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will now receive an annual honorarium of Rs 30,000, while officers of Tehsildar rank, functioning as Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), will be granted Rs 25,000 annually. This initiative represents the Commission’s intent to recognise and financially support EROs and AEROs for their critical contributions to the electoral roll management.
Previously, the Commission had approved a special incentive of Rs 6,000 for BLOs participating in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise initiated from Bihar, underlining its efforts to maintain the integrity and accuracy of electoral rolls through sustained field work.
These enhanced financial provisions are reflective of the Election Commission’s commitment to improving the welfare of election functionaries who serve at the ground level, ensuring orderly voter registration, facilitating citizen participation, and reinforcing the robustness of India’s democratic processes. Presently, Uttarakhand has nearly 13,000 active BLOs, while around 70 Sub-Divisional Magistrates are deployed as EROs, all playing a pivotal role in fortifying the election infrastructure across the state.
