CHANDIGARH: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has sanctioned a one-time honorarium of Rs 6,000, in addition to the annual remuneration, for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and BLO Supervisors engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in several States and Union Territories, including Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
In an order issued on Tuesday night, the ECI cited the volume and nature of the work involved in the exercise. The honorarium will be paid in addition to the officials' annual remuneration.
“I am directed to convey that, considering the volume and nature of the work involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Commission has approved the grant of a one-time honorarium of ₹6,000 to each BLO and BLO Supervisor engaged in the exercise, in addition to their annual remuneration. The instruction shall be brought to the notice of all concerned for compliance,” the order said.
The communication has been sent to the Chief Electoral Officers of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Odisha, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura and Uttarakhand, where the SIR exercise is under way.
Booth-level officials engaged in the exercise across these States and Union Territories will benefit from the decision.
In May, the ECI announced the launch of Phase III of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in 16 States and three Union Territories, covering more than 36 crore electors in a phased manner.
The exercise is being carried out in phases and has been aligned with the house-listing stage of the Census to utilise the existing field machinery. According to the ECI, about 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers have been deployed for door-to-door verification of electors, with the support of 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents nominated by recognised political parties.