Gurgaon: Election officials are in a fix after nearly 70% of Form 6 applications in the district were submitted with Aadhaar as the sole supporting document for age and address. Officials said they are unsure whether to accept these applications or seek additional documents from voters, especially because the Election Commission has clarified in a recent circular that Aadhaar is not “a conclusive proof of age or address”.What has added to their dilemma is that booth-level officers on the ground have submitted positive verification reports in these cases.“On one hand, the Election Commission has said in its circular that Aadhaar is not a conclusive proof of either age or address. On the other, its online application still allows users to upload Aadhaar as both age and residential proofs,” an official told TOI.They expressed concern that if genuine voters are now asked to bring along additional documents, it might jeopardise the entire exercise. “Most voters in a city like Gurgaon work in private offices. They hardly have any time to spare, except on weekends,” the official said.Form 6 is the application used to add an eligible voter’s name to the electoral roll. It is also the application to register first-time voters. Its online form asks for an Aadhaar number and documents supporting age and address in three different columns. Aadhaar appears as an option in all columns, allowing applicants to use the same document for the different requirements despite EC’s clarification.For age proof, the options include a birth certificate, Aadhaar, PAN card, driving licence, Class X or XII certificate and passport. For address proof, applicants can submit a utility bill, Aadhaar, a current bank or post office passbook, passport, land ownership records, or a registered rent/lease deed or sale deed. The form also provides for another document to establish date of birth if none of the listed options is available.The difficulty has emerged during scrutiny. EC’s clarification that Aadhaar is not, by itself, conclusive proof of age or residence has left officials uncertain about how to handle applications backed by no other document.“It is not the fault of the applicant. Aadhaar is prominently mentioned in the form and is one of the options for age as well as address proof. Out of convenience, people add just one document — Aadhaar — and the form gets submitted online,” an election officer said.“Applicants think they have completed the process, but we are in a fix. Reaching out to voters and asking them to come and submit additional documents is not easy in Gurgaon. It is very difficult to meet people here,” the officer added, pointing to the difficulty of getting working residents to visit election offices in person.DLF Phase 3 resident Akhilesh Kumar is among those whose name is missing from the draft roll since he could not submit the special intensive revision (SIR) form. He subsequently applied through Form 6. “I submitted Form 6 online and there was an option for Aadhaar. This one document was mentioned in the options for age as well as address,” he said.The district has received 44,841 Form 6 applications, of which 27,357 remain pending. In Badshapur, there are 19,124 (16,508 pending), 11,521 in Gurgaon (7,405), 8,346 in Sohna (2,444) and 5,850 in Pataudi (1,000). Another 1,419 applications were recorded as rejected without a hearing — 711 in Sohna, 635 in Pataudi, 43 in Gurgaon and 30 in Badshapur.The SIR has also involved a large number of hearings. Badshapur recorded 1.8 lakh sessions, Gurgaon 1.5 lakh and Sohna 78,873. Pataudi recorded none, according to the district report. Of 3,949 hearings pending across the district, 2,289 were in Sohna, 1,308 in Badshapur and 352 in Gurgaon.The revision has reduced Gurgaon district’s electorate by 4.5 lakh, from 15.5 lakh on May 31 to 11 lakh in the draft roll published on July 31. Of the 11 lakh names in the draft, 6.2 lakh were listed as electors without notice, while 4.8 lakh voters were issued notices and asked to submit documents.
