Gurgaon: Booth level officers (BLOs) conducting the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Gurgaon are running into a wall — sometimes literally. Locked doors, unhelpful tenants and residents who send their domestic staff to deal with officials rather than engaging themselves are slowing down the exercise across the city’s high-end residential societies.State chief electoral officer A Sreenivas visited several residential societies on Wednesday — DLF Camellias, DLF Magnolias, Heritage City, National Media Centre and Sushant Lok-2 — urging RWAs and estate managers to support the ongoing process.It was his second visit to high-rises and residential areas in the city within a week. SDM (Badshahpur) Sanjeev Singla said the CEO interacted with BLOs and field staff, reviewed record maintenance practices and issued directions to ensure timely completion of the revision. The visits came amid concerns over sluggish distribution of enumeration forms — only 70% of forms have been distributed so far in Badshahpur constituency, which covers a large part of the city.On the ground, BLOs describe an exercise riddled with obstacles at every step.Ram Singh, covering DLF Magnolias and DLF Camellias, said gaining access to gated communities is itself a battle. “After extensive coordination with estate management, we are usually granted only a one-time gate pass to enter the society. Once inside, we face another hurdle as domestic staff often answer the door and residents do not come forward to interact with us,” Singh said.Even after showing identity cards and explaining the purpose of the visit, he said, residents frequently do not come out to meet officials. Household staff insist on taking the enumeration forms themselves, assuring BLOs they will pass them on — but election authorities require forms to be delivered directly to voters and details verified in person as part of the revision process, making such handovers procedurally untenable.Summer vacations have compounded the problem. Ritu, a BLO covering Sushant Lok-2, said a large number of residents being out of town has rendered many visits futile. “In several cases, we keep ringing the doorbell but receive no response,” she said. Some residents communicate through video doorbells or security cameras but decline to open the door even after officials explain their purpose.Tenant occupancy has added a third layer of difficulty. Ajay Kumar, covering Heritage City, said many working professionals frequently relocate to other cities after registering as voters in Gurgaon, leaving behind tenants with little to no information about the registered voters at those addresses — making it nearly impossible to verify current elector status.A member of the Heritage City RWA said residents there are engaging with the process and regularly sharing information about BLO visits through society WhatsApp groups. The RWA has also asked security personnel to accompany BLOs during door-to-door visits to ease access.“Residents can also fill the enumeration form online if they are not currently at home. Physical verification can be completed once they return,” Sreenivas said.
