ECI issues 4-point action agenda to states holding SIR

In a December 24 communication to the chief electoral officers (CEOs) of these states/UTs, the poll panel has sent a four-point action agenda and sought ‘strict compliance’, ET has learnt.

One In cases of notices being issued to electors by the electoral registration officer (ERO), where electors may be required to submit prescribed documents to show eligibility including mapping in the last SIR, all such additional documents are to be uploaded through the BLO App for ERO examination.
Two ECI has said that district election officers (DEOs) should verify all such documents within five days from the day they are received on ECINET.

Three In case of documents issued by a government authority from the same state but in another district, DEO should refer it through the ECINET to the concerned DEO who can have it verified.

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Four In case of electors who may have submitted documents issued by an authority from outside the state, DEO has been asked to refer such cases through the CEO of the state to the CEO of the concerned state, requesting immediate verification.
These steps are expected to ease the burden for electors, especially those not mapped on electoral rolls from the previous intensive exercises. Lakhs of such cases are now headed for notices, seeking additional documents for verification and ‘hearings’. Eleven of the 12 states/UTs, undergoing SIR phase-2, have published their draft rolls, barring Uttar Pradesh.Deletions from the electoral rolls on account of deaths, shifted residence and multiple entries in rolls have been an issue of concern across many states. Those with shifted address and multiple entries, besides those whose antecedents/documents are found deficient, would be issued a notice and asked to appear for a hearing with specified identity and citizenship documents.

So far, poll-bound Tamil Nadu leads the tally in the number of deletions, with as many as 97 lakh deleted from its 6.4 crore pre-SIR voter base, followed by Gujarat (73 lakh) and West Bengal (58 lakh).

This exercise has covered 36 crore of the 51 crore voter base across 11 of the 12 states/UTs so far and has resulted in deletions of over 3.7 crore – a number expected to rise significantly once UP’s draft roll is released.