Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India Thursday announced the schedule for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Telangana, with booth level officers (BLOs) set to begin house-to-house visits from June 25 to update voter records. The exercise is being aligned with the nationwide Census-related field deployment schedule.Chief electoral officer of Telangana, C Sudharshan Reddy, said preparatory activities for the revision process would be carried out from June 15 to June 24. These include training personnel, identifying field staff, mapping work areas, and printing enumeration forms.“We will complete the pre-SIR mapping by June 15. The workforce has been identified and training is already under way for BLOs and other officials involved in the process,” Sudharshan Reddy said.He added transfers in the revenue and municipal administration departments would be temporarily halted, as a majority of personnel engaged in the SIR exercise belong to these departments.During the house-to-house enumeration drive from June 25 to July 24, BLOs will distribute partially pre-filled enumeration forms in duplicate to all existing electors and assist them in completing the details. The officials will subsequently revisit households to collect the filled forms and issue acknowledgement slips to voters.According to the CEO, if a residence is found locked during a visit, BLOs will make at least three attempts to contact the occupants.Electors will also have the option of downloading the forms online and submitting them digitally. However, online submissions will still be subject to physical verification by BLOs during field visits.Sudharshan Reddy clarified that no supporting documents would be collected during the initial phase of the exercise.“At this stage, BLOs will only distribute and collect enumeration forms. Supporting documents, if required, will be sought only after publication of the draft electoral roll and depending on individual cases,” he said.The dates of BLO visits will be publicised in advance by Electoral Registration Officers to ensure wider public awareness. BLOs will also assist voters in updating details relating to their own names or those of their parents, grandparents, and other family records linked to earlier electoral rolls, including the 2002 SIR records.The revision exercise is being conducted with Oct 1, 2026, as the qualifying date under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Rationalisation and rearrangement of polling stations are scheduled to be completed by July 24.The draft electoral roll will be published on July 31. Electors who submit duly filled enumeration forms during the enumeration period, including those submitted online with signatures, will have their names included in the draft roll.The claims and objections period will be from July 31 to Aug 30. During this phase, EROs will conduct hearings, verification processes, and inquiries into claims and objections. These proceedings will continue until Sept 28.Electors who fail to submit enumeration forms during the designated period may still apply through Form 6 along with the prescribed declaration form during the claims and objections window.In cases where voter details are incomplete, the ERO or AERO may initiate further inquiry, allowing electors to furnish supporting documents during hearings.The final electoral roll is scheduled for publication on Oct 1, 2026, following disposal of all claims and objections.The CEO also held consultations with representatives of recognised national and state political parties and briefed them on the SIR process in detail.
