BHUBANESWAR: The State Election Commission will conduct a special pilot survey in three Assembly constituencies under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) area from September 3 to 11 to ensure transparency in the upcoming panchayat and municipal elections and remove errors in voter lists.
State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi said the campaign will help in preparing a transparent, error-free and systematic voter list in the state.
According to the SEC, the pilot door-to-door survey work will be taken up in three Assembly constituencies under the BMC - ward no 10 of Bhubaneswar-North Assembly constituency, ward no 35 of Bhubaneswar-Central Assembly constituency and ward no 52 of Bhubaneswar-Ekamra Assembly constituency.
After completion of the pilot survey, door-to-door survey will be conducted across the state from October 26 to November 7, to make the voter lists of panchayat and municipal constituencies error-free and systematic. The objective of the survey is to find a permanent solution to complex problems like members of the same family being included in different booths and unclear house numbers.
Most Assembly booths in urban areas do not have a specific geographical boundary. As a result, voters from 10 to 12 different areas are included in one booth. In many cases, voters of one ward have to vote in another ward, due to which many voters avoid going to the polling station.
The SEC said through the survey, steps will be taken to enable all members of one family to vote in one polling station. Similarly, if voters of one ward are in the list of other wards, their names will be enlisted again in the same ward to which they belong, so that voting can be done easily.
As this is a major reason for low voter turnout in urban areas, the aim is to improve it through this new system, said Padhi. He requested the public to provide correct information and extend full cooperation to the team comprising booth-level officers (BLOs) and other staff engaged in this survey work.