Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 7 Aug: In pursuance of the directives of the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer, Uttarakhand, Garhwal Commissioner and Roll Observer Anand Swaroop today conducted surprise inspections of various polling stations and hearing camps in the Rajpur Road (SC) and Mussoorie Assembly constituencies. He also examined the disposal of notices issued to the voters and the hearing process under the ongoing special intensive revision campaign (SIR). He made it clear that no eligible voter should be subjected to unnecessary inconvenience and that the hearings must strictly follow the provisions laid down by the Election Commission.
During the inspection, Chief Development Officer (CDO) and Deputy District Election Officer Abhinav Shah, Assistant District Election Officer NP Dewli and other election staff were also present. The Commissioner visited polling station number 84 at DAV Inter College, Karanpur, polling station number 109 at St Thomas’ College Cross Road under Rajpur Road constituency, and two polling stations at Government Inter College, Dobhalwala under Mussoorie constituency, where hearing camps were being held.
Swaroop also interacted directly with the voters attending the hearings to ascertain the type of documents being demanded by Booth Level Officers (BLOs). The BLOs informed that voters categorised as un‑mapped were being asked to provide details from the 2003 electoral roll, but if unavailable, any of the 11 valid documents prescribed by the Commission could be submitted. For voters under the anomaly category, where minor errors in names or relatives’ names exist, hearings were being conducted on the basis of one valid document.
The Commissioner instructed Assistant Electoral Registration Officers to ensure that the list of all valid documents prescribed by the Commission is prominently displayed in hearing rooms so that the voters can access necessary information easily and are not subjected to inconvenience. He issued strict directions to all the AEROs, BLO supervisors and BLOs that no demands beyond the prescribed documents should be made and that each case must be heard and disposed of in a time‑bound manner as per standards. He emphasised that unnecessary delay or harassment of any voter will not be tolerated.
He also reviewed the hearing process being conducted by the AEROs and the reports being uploaded on the ERO Net. He directed that as soon as hearings on notices are completed, entries must be updated immediately on the BLO App and ERO Net to ensure that progress remains transparent and up‑to‑date, thereby maintaining the effectiveness of the special intensive revision campaign.
