NEW DELHI: The political climate in the national capital is set to heat up with the Election Commission of India (ECI) notifying the cut-off date for a special intensive revision (SIR) of Delhi's electoral rolls--an exercise currently stirring controversy in Bihar.
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi, has notified the cut-off date for the revision as March 16, 2008--the same date when the last SIR was carried out. This means that all voter names added to the rolls after this date will now be subject to verification. Individuals falling in this category will be required to furnish proof of citizenship to retain their names on the electoral list.
Although the formal schedule for the verification process has not been announced, officials have indicated that the process is likely to begin in August.
“Training of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have begun from July 3rd. The door-to-door campaign for verification and other processes is expected to start in August..The schedule regarding this will be out soon,” a senior poll official told this newspaper.
The Delhi revision echoes the ongoing process in Bihar, where only a select set of documents are being accepted for verification. These include birth certificates, passports, identity cards or pension orders issued to government employees or pensioners, permanent residence certificates, caste certificates, forest rights documents, family registers maintained by local authorities, and government-issued land or housing allotment certificates. Notably, Aadhaar is not among the accepted documents.
The ECI has maintained that the objective of the SIR is to clean the electoral rolls by removing duplicate entries, rectifying errors, and incorporating demographic changes triggered by urbanisation and migration.
Residents wishing to verify their enrollment can do so by visiting the official website of the CEO, Delhi.
