Gurgaon: With less than a week left before the first phase of Haryana’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ends on July 14, officials have warned that eligible voters who fail to submit forms by the deadline risk being classified as ‘missing voters’ and may face notices during the verification stage, asking them to come to the regional election office (SDM office) and submit documents.Officials said booth-level officers (BLOs) are making repeated door-to-door visits to distribute forms and assist residents in filling them. However, poor public response, especially in Gurgaon’s gated communities, has emerged as a major obstacle in completing the exercise.“It is ultimately the voter’s responsibility to complete the process. BLOs can guide them, provide forms and help upload details, but they cannot force anyone to cooperate. By ignoring the exercise, voters are only making things difficult for themselves,” an officer said.“The administration is reaching out to voters right now,” he said. “But after July 14, voters will have to approach the administration instead.” He further cautioned that defaulters will receive notices and must respond and complete the process to retain their place in the electoral roll.The warning comes as officials continue to struggle with low enumeration in several polling booths across Gurgaon. Nearly 100 booths reported digitisation levels between 10% and 18% until recently, largely because forms either were not returned or could not be uploaded due to incomplete documentation.Several BLOs said convincing residents has proved harder than distributing forms. “Many residents ask us to return after office hours, but when we go back, they are still unavailable. Some have postponed the process three or four times,” said a BLO posted in a high-rise society on Golf Course Extension Road.“People assume they can do it later because elections are still far away. They don’t realise the revision process has fixed timelines,” another BLO said.Residents, meanwhile, cite practical difficulties rather than unwillingness. “Both of us are working and leave home early. The BLO usually comes during office hours when nobody is at home. We intend to complete the process online before the deadline,” said a resident of Sector 65.“We were travelling during the summer holidays and only returned this week. We will submit the form in the next couple of days,” said another resident of Sector 50.Officials said the current phase offers the easiest opportunity for voters to verify their details. Once notices are issued after July 14, those left out may have to personally respond during the verification process, increasing both paperwork and visits to election offices.DC and district election officer Uttam Singh said that in certain booth areas, the digitisation of enumeration forms is progressing slowly due to non-cooperation from citizens.He added that having one’s name correctly and in its latest form on the electoral roll is both the right and the responsibility of every citizen. He urged RWAs and citizens to extend full cooperation to BLOs in their area so that the details of every eligible voter can be digitised in a time-bound manner.On Monday TOI quoted BLOs, engaged with SIR, as saying they are under pressure to complete the work as time is running out but residents are not showing any urgency. “We have visited some apartments three or four times, but many residents keep asking us to come back later. With the deadline approaching, repeated visits reduce the time available to reach other voters,” said a BLO, who is assigned to the Sushant Lok area.Another BLO, assigned to the new sectors, said, “People are not treating us well and they don’t consider the exercise as urgent. Many say they will fill the form later or online, but unless they actually complete it, our work remains pending.”
