New Delhi, Sep 30: The Election Commission (EC) has extended the schedule for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya.
Under the revised schedule, the final electoral roll in Andhra Pradesh will be published on October 16, while the final voter list in Meghalaya will be published on October 26.
The earlier deadline for the final voter list was October 9 in Andhra Pradesh and October 21 in Meghalaya.
The decision was taken at a meeting of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi at Nirvachan Sadan.
Revised SIR Schedule for Andhra Pradesh
In Andhra Pradesh, the notice phase and disposal of claims and objections, which began on July 31, will continue until October 10.
The final electoral roll will subsequently be published on October 16.
The Election Commission had earlier extended the SIR process in Andhra Pradesh at different stages to allow officials to complete the enumeration and digitisation work. The SIR Phase-III exercise covers more than 4.16 crore electors in Andhra Pradesh, according to the Election Commission’s original Phase-III data.
SIR Schedule in Meghalaya
For Meghalaya, the Election Commission has fixed October 26 as the date for publication of the final electoral roll.
The Commission’s latest announcement did not specify the revised deadline for disposal of claims and objections or explain the reasons for the latest extension.
Meghalaya is part of the third phase of the nationwide SIR exercise. The state has more than 23 lakh electors, with thousands of Booth Level Officers involved in the revision process.
EC Reviews SIR Process
The latest extension comes amid discussions within the Election Commission over several aspects of the SIR exercise, including voter-enrolment forms and electoral-roll management software.
Following a full Commission meeting on September 26, the EC said that orders related to the SIR had received the unanimous approval of all three commissioners.
The Commission also clarified the use of the additional declaration attached to Form 6 during the SIR exercise. It said the statutory forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would continue to be used outside the SIR period.
On Tuesday, the EC withdrew the additional SIR-related declaration from the online Form 6 in states where the revision exercise had already been completed.
SIR Covers 16 States and 3 Union Territories
The third phase of the Special Intensive Revision covers 16 states and three Union Territories, involving more than 36.73 crore electors. The exercise involves over 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and more than 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs).
The Election Commission has also revised SIR schedules in several other states and Union Territories during the ongoing exercise.
The changes reflect the large-scale nature of the electoral-roll revision process and the need to complete claims, objections and verification before the publication of final voter lists.
