NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed four Electoral Roll Observers for Delhi as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls gathers pace across 16 states and three Union Territories (UTs).
The observers - Pandurang K Pole, Rashmi Singh, Yashpal Garg and K Mahesh, all AGMUT cadre IAS officers - will oversee the revision exercise across Delhi's 13 districts. The appointments are aimed at ensuring effective monitoring of the electoral roll revision and inclusion of all eligible voters, the poll panel said.
The districts have been divided among the four officers. Pole will supervise North-West, West and South-West districts, while Singh will oversee South-East, South and New Delhi. Garg has been assigned Central, North, Outer North and Old Delhi districts, and Mahesh will monitor North-East, East and Shahdara/Central areas.
“The observers will undertake three rounds of field visits during key stages of the exercise. The first round will take place between August 17 and September 16, when claims and objections are received. The second is scheduled from September 17 to October 15 during the disposal of claims and objections by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). The final visit will be on October 19, coinciding with verification of the working copy by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), printing of supplements and publication of the final electoral roll,” a source said.
“The SIR exercise is going on in Delhi along with other states and UTs. Their appointment is aligned with the ECI’s commitment to ensure inclusion of all eligible voters in the electoral roll,” he said.
According to the latest SIR bulletin issued by the Commission, 99.86 percent of enumeration forms had been distributed in Delhi as of 8 pm on July 26. Of these, 47.83 percent have been digitised. Delhi currently has 1,45,10,298 registered electors.
The ECI had on July 15 revised the SIR schedule for Delhi, extending key deadlines. Under the updated timeline, the draft electoral roll will now be published on August 17 instead of August 5, while the final electoral roll will be released on October 19, replacing the earlier date of October 7.
The third phase of the SIR is currently being implemented in a staggered manner across 16 states and three UTs, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Chandigarh and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. House-to-house verification by Booth Level Officers will begin on August 16 in most states, while the exercise in Tripura will commence from September 15.