Bhubaneswar: More than 58.36 lakh voters in Odisha have been identified for verification under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) stepping up the process to ensure an accurate and error-free voters’ list.
Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R S Gopalan said on Tuesday that the SIR exercise has entered its second phase after the publication of the draft electoral roll on July 5. The period for filing claims, objections and corrections will continue till August 4, during which eligible voters can submit applications through Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8.
He said altogether 20,12,577 names have been deleted from the voters’ list following the initial phase of intensive revision exercise, bringing down the total number of electors in the draft list to around 3.13 crore.
Out of the 58,36,341 electors identified for verification, around 12 lakh voters could not be mapped as their details were not available in the 2002 electoral roll. Another 46 lakh electors have discrepancies in their SIR forms, which require correction and verification, the CEO said.
Notices have been generated for these identified electors and distribution is currently underway, he said.
The CEO appealed to voters to cooperate with the verification process and submit the required documents to the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) after receiving notices for necessary corrections.
Once the voter submits all required documents to the BLO, there will generally be no need for the elector to appear personally during the hearing, he said.
To ensure that vulnerable groups are not inconvenienced, special arrangements have been made for senior citizens, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), sick and infirm persons, and residents of remote areas. Such electors will generally not be required to appear personally. BLOs will collect the necessary documents from their residences to make the process convenient and accessible.
Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) are issuing notices to electors whose details do not match the records available in the 2002 electoral roll or contain discrepancies. The concerned electors have been advised to appear before the AEROs on the scheduled dates along with documents approved by the Election Commission to support their claims. Where possible, hearings will also be conducted through video conferencing.
The CEO urged citizens to verify their names and other particulars in the draft electoral roll and submit claims, objections or correction requests through their respective BLOs, the Voters’ Service Portal or the ECI NET App within the stipulated period. The EROs will decide the eligibility of electors based on the documents submitted during the verification process.
The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on September 6.
