New Delhi: Most of Delhi’s affluent and middle-class neighbourhoods are lagging behind low-income areas when it comes to successful verification and digitisation of enumeration forms, according to Delhi poll panel’s Aug 3 data of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.With just five days to go for the Aug 8 deadline to submit the forms, only 47.8% of them have been verified and digitised in Kasturba Nagar, 49.3% in Jangpura, 51.3% in RK Puram, 52.8% in Malviya Nagar, 55.9% in New Delhi and 60.2% in Greater Kailash.In contrast, many comparatively lower-income and outer Delhi constituencies have crossed the 70% mark, led by Seelampur (74.9%), Mangol Puri (73.3%), Najafgarh (73%), Matiala (72.2%), Uttam Nagar and Mundka (both 72%), Matia Mahal (71.9%), Bawana (71.5%) and Narela (70.7%).According to a poll panel official, the poor progress in several upscale localities is due to apathy among people. “In the initial weeks, we witnessed eagerness among voters in outer Delhi areas and low-income pockets, but not among those in upscale colonies,” he said, adding that officials are racing against time to complete the verification drive and focusing on constituencies with the slowest progress to ensure maximum coverage before the deadline. No forms will be accepted after Aug 8.Delhi’s 1.45 crore voters are spread across 70 assembly constituencies. According to the cumulative SIR status report of Aug 3, the forms of nearly 90 lakh or 62% voters have been filled in — either physically or online — and verified and mapped. As reported by TOI earlier, officials expect that given the current pace, nearly 20% of Delhi’s registered voters could be struck off the rolls. “Around 80% of the enumeration forms have been returned to booth-level officers (BLOs), all of which will be digitised in the coming days,” the official said.However, the 20% have not filled in their forms as yet. They may have either permanently shifted from their registered addresses or are untraceable or have died. The final percentage of deletions will be known only when the draft rolls are published on Aug 17, the official added.Some areas of Delhi present a mixed picture. Rohini is the best-performing assembly segment with 79.6% of its forms digitised, followed by Shakur Basti (78.8%) and Rajouri Garden (77.6%). Constituencies clustered in the 60%-70% range include Madipur (69.7%), Hari Nagar (69.1%), Janakpuri (68%), Palam (68%), Babarpur (67.9%), Dwarka (67.9%), Adarsh Nagar (66.2%), Sultanpur Majra and Bijwasan (65.6% each), Mustafabad (64.3%), Shalimar Bagh (64.3%), Nangloi Jat (63.9%), Tri Nagar (63.8%), Kirari (63.4%), Rohtas Nagar (63.3%), Badli (62.7%) and Timarpur (62.4%).Several others, including Burari, Vikaspuri, Delhi Cantt, Wazirpur, Rajinder Nagar, Shahdara, Model Town, Sadar Bazar, Mehrauli, Trilokpuri, Kondli, Patparganj, Ambedkar Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Chandni Chowk, Kalkaji, Laxmi Nagar, Badarpur, Okhla and Tughlakabad, remain below the 60% mark.
