Haryana SIR: Draft electoral rolls out, claims and objections until 30 August

Draft electoral rolls for all 90 Assembly constituencies in Haryana have been published after the completion of the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Friday.

According to an official statement, 20,629 booth-level officers (BLOs) distributed enumeration forms to more than 2.06 crore electors during the exercise.

As of 24 July, 1,72,72,627 of the state's 2,06,55,929 electors had submitted their enumeration forms, reflecting what the ECI described as overwhelming participation during the enumeration phase.

During the exercise, 24.13 lakh electors were found to have permanently shifted, were absent or fell under other categories, while 7.66 lakh were identified as deceased and 2.04 lakh were found to be enrolled at multiple locations.

The ECI said genuine electors whose names may have been excluded from the draft rolls can seek inclusion during the 'claims and objections' period from 31 July to 30 August by submitting Form 6 along with the prescribed declaration form. It said names of electors found to be enrolled at multiple places would be retained only at one location.

The notice phase and disposal of claims and objections will continue until 28 September, after which the final electoral roll will be published on 3 October.

The statement said the SIR exercise in Haryana was carried out to ensure maximum participation, complete inclusion of eligible electors and transparency at every stage.

It attributed the completion of the enumeration phase to the coordinated efforts of district election officers (DEOs) across Haryana's 23 districts, 90 electoral registration officers (EROs), 1,594 assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs), 2,244 BLO supervisors and 20,629 booth level officers deployed at an equal number of polling stations, with support from volunteers.

Representatives of recognised political parties, including district presidents, also participated in the exercise, with 36,998 booth-level agents (BLAs) appointed by the parties.

A meeting with representatives of national and state political parties was held on Friday at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Haryana. They were briefed on the schedule for the 'claims and objections' process and provided copies of the draft electoral rolls.

To ensure wider awareness and participation, the chief electoral officer, district election officers and electoral registration officers conducted awareness campaigns during the enumeration period and held meetings with political parties to explain the process and share regular updates on the progress of the SIR exercise, the statement said.

BLOs carried out house-to-house visits to distribute enumeration forms to existing electors and made at least three follow-up visits to collect them. BLAs also worked to ensure that no eligible elector was left out. BLOs held booth-wise meetings with the agents to verify electors categorised as 'Absent', 'Shifted', 'Dead' and 'Duplicate'.

According to the statement, an ERO or AERO cannot delete any name from the draft electoral roll without issuing a notice, conducting an inquiry and giving the person concerned a fair opportunity to be heard.

In every such case, the electoral registration officer or assistant electoral registration officer must pass a speaking order before deleting an entry, it said.

With PTI inputs