New Delhi: As many as 47.9 lakh registered voters in Delhi are yet to submit their enumeration forms for the verification and digitisation of their credentials even though just around 24 hours are left before the deadline for submission of forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ends.The submission window is scheduled to close Monday night, after which voters who have not submitted their forms will not be able to do so and their names will not be included in the draft electoral roll scheduled to be published on Aug 24.According to the status report released by the chief electoral officer, Delhi, at 8 pm on Sunday, 97.2 lakh of the 1.45 crore enumeration forms distributed across the capital had been verified and digitised, taking the overall rate to 66.9%. The reasons behind non-submission by so many voters include shifting of voters, death, migration out of Delhi, among others.It means enumeration forms of nearly 33% voters are yet to be verified and digitised. The enumeration phase began on June 30 during which 13,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) visited door to door to distribute the forms to voters, who were expected to submit their filled enumeration forms to the BLOs before Aug 17.Election officials clarified that deletion from the draft electoral roll does not mean permanent exclusion. Voters can file claims and objections from Aug 24 to Sept 23, including Form 6 for enrolment at a new address. After verification, eligible voters will be included in the final electoral roll on Oct 27.The Sunday’s SIR report shows that enumeration forms were distributed to all 1.4 crore registered electors, and the distribution rate has reached 100% in all 13 districts. The pace of verification varies significantly across districts, though.South East Delhi has the lowest rate of 55.94%, with 8.71 lakh of its 15.57 lakh forms digitised. New Delhi follows with 60.68%, while South and Central districts have recorded rates of 61.05% and 61.87%, respectively.At the other end, Outer North has the highest digitisation rate at 75.66%, followed by West at 73.17% and South West at 73.03%. North West and North East have recorded digitisation rates of 70.83% and 70.79%, respectively.The SIR was extended twice. Originally scheduled to end on July 29, the time for house-to-house enumeration visits by BLOs was first extended to Aug 8 and then to Aug 17. Similarly, the publication of the draft roll, initially scheduled for Aug 5, was first deferred to Aug 17 and then to Aug 24.
