Kolkata, Jan 30 (UNI) The Election Commission on Friday directed that all data uploaded after hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal will now undergo “super checking” by special observers appointed in the state and the poll body has also made it clear that all hearings and the uploading of related documents must be completed within the next seven days.
The directions were issued after a full bench meeting of the Election Commission held at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal to review the progress of SIR hearings.
During the meeting, the Commission issued a series of instructions to District Election Officers (DEOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs).
All pending hearing notices must be generated by 5 PM on Saturday. Notices that are yet to be delivered to voters’ residences must be sent by 5 PM on February 1, with proof of delivery uploaded by Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
The Commission instructed that all types of hearings and the uploading of hearing-related documents must be completed within seven days.
In cases where hearings have already been held, attendance details and documents collected from voters must be uploaded by February 2.
It was also decided that micro-observers posted at hearing centres will be withdrawn within the next two to three days and redeployed for electoral roll monitoring along with the roll observers.
DEOs have been asked to ensure that no rules are violated and that all cases are disposed of strictly in accordance with guidelines.
While micro-observers are already verifying the information being uploaded, the Commission said that all online documents, data and decisions will now be subjected to an additional layer of scrutiny by special observers.
All EROs and AEROs have been directed to be informed of these instructions to ensure uniform compliance. According to Commission sources, Murshidabad and Malda are lagging behind in SIR hearings.
The Commission has instructed these two districts, along with all others, to complete hearings and uploads within the stipulated seven-day period. February 7 has been fixed as the last date for hearings, while the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on February 14.
Although there were indications that the hearing period might be extended, the Commission has not yet taken a final decision on the matter.
The SIR exercise has been underway since November 4 across 12 states and union Territories, including West Bengal.
In the state, the draft electoral roll was published on December 16, followed by the hearing phase. A total of 1,26,17,558 voters have been called for hearings, including 31,68,426 from the no-mapping list—voters who could not establish any linkage with the 2002 electoral roll.
An additional 94,49,132 voters have been summoned due to data-related discrepancies.
