Pune: State chief electoral officer has directed the poll officials not to take any hasty decision if documents submitted against SIR notices are inadequate and give political parties’ booth-level representatives enough time to contact the voters concerned for the required papers.A senior election official said the directions were issued to all election officials on Wednesday. The move comes amid demands from political parties for more time to complete the process and their concerns that eligible voters should not be left out of the electoral rolls.Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise reduced Maharashtra’s electoral roll from nearly 9.8 crore voters to 7.7 crore, after more than 2 crore were found to be absent, shifted, deceased or otherwise uncollectable. Notices have been issued to 1.22 crore voters for unmapped entries or logical discrepancies.The letter from chief electoral officer’s office stated that where the available documents did not support a positive decision, details of such cases should be shared with the booth-level agents (BLAs) concerned of political parties. “Before taking the final decision, the BLA should be advised to cooperate in obtaining documents from the electors concerned. Sufficient time should be given for this purpose. Scrutiny of the documents and the final decision will rest with the ERO/AERO (electoral registration officer/assistant ERO),” the letter stated.“This will ensure that political parties are kept in complete know-how in case the documents are inadequate,” said a BLO.Officials have been directed to examine each case thoroughly, give voters an opportunity to submit additional documents and ensure that no eligible voter is deprived of enrolment or the right to vote. Where the evidence submitted is insufficient, the prescribed hearing procedure must be followed wherever necessary, with ERO/AERO taking a decision only after considering the documents and the verification report.Under the revised procedure, BLOs will visit voters receiving notices and collect documents from them or their relatives. The documents will be uploaded through the BLO app/ECINet, along with a verification report or panchnama wherever required.Voters may also submit documents through available online channels, including WhatsApp, where the material can be verified. An online hearing may be held in exceptional cases with the voter or an adult family member authorised by the voter.Officials have been told to contact voters over the telephone, WhatsApp or other available means for notices already issued and inform them that they need not personally attend hearings in routine cases. The same information would be conveyed when fresh notices are delivered. Special camps to collect documents had been scheduled for Oct 3, 4, 10 and 15, the election office told TOI.Voters have been waiting for the BLOs to reach them after having received notices. “With the sudden change of rules, there is some confusion and apprehension because we have to wait for the BLO to come home to collect the documents,” said a voter from Kondhwa area.
