Gurgaon: Booth-level officers (BLOs) have got 10 additional days to complete the door-to-door voter verification exercise under the special intensive revision (SIR)-2026 of electoral rolls. Amid verification challenges in the city and other districts, Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the deadline for the exercise from July 14 to July 24.The revised schedule, announced on Monday, also extends the deadline for rationalisation and reorganisation of polling stations to July 24. The deadline was extended on the last day when around 34% of the registered voters in the district had not completed the SIR process or were yet to be verified. Gurgaon district and Gurgaon assembly constituency account for 66% and 55% verification so far, respectively.The extension comes after the voter verification exercise faced significant hurdles in the city, particularly in upscale gated communities, where BLOs struggled to access residential complexes and meet residents during permitted hours.Under the revised programme, the draft electoral roll will now be published on July 31, following which claims and objections can be filed between July 31 and Aug 30. Applications for inclusion of names, deletion, correction of particulars or other changes will be accepted during this period. Disposal of claims and objections will continue till Sept 28, while the final electoral roll will be published on Oct 3.Deputy Commissioner and district election officer Uttam Singh said eligible voters whose details are yet to be verified or who wish to correct any errors in the electoral roll should contact their respective BLOs before the revised deadline to ensure their records are updated. “The extension in the deadline will be helpful for the people who have not been able to complete the SIR for some other reason,” said the DC, adding that many people were travelling due to summer break or got to know about the SIR process late, so the extension will be helpful. He urged people to complete the SIR on priority.TOI had earlier highlighted that several resident welfare associations allowed BLOs only limited entry windows, while many residents were away on summer vacations or unavailable during daytime visits. BLOs also reported difficulties in verifying tenants, obtaining supporting documents and interacting with residents through domestic staff.The district has around 15.55 lakh registered voters in four assembly constituencies. Officials had acknowledged that urban voter mobility, inaccessible gated societies and low public participation had slowed the exercise.Singh urged eligible voters to cooperate with BLOs and complete the verification process within the extended timeline so that the electoral roll is prepared accurately.Residents welcomed the extension in the deadline and urged the authorities to organise camps for SIR form filling. “The authorities should organise camps in each and every society to help people in completing the SIR process,” said Surender Verma, resident of Sector 50, adding that many people were facing problems in filling the form and tracing the records from the 2002 electoral roll.The SIR exercise is aimed at preparing an updated and error-free electoral roll ahead of future elections. For rapidly growing urban districts such as Gurgaon, where migration and frequent changes of residence are common, the additional time is expected to help improve coverage and reduce omissions.
