Ranchi: In a major step to make the electoral roll revision process more transparent and participative, the Jharkhand Election Department will organise ‘Chunav Pathshalas’ at every polling station across the state on July 14 as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
During the awareness and verification sessions, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will publicly read out the names of voters placed under the ASDD category — Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (registered at more than one location). The exercise is aimed at helping citizens verify voter records and identify any inaccuracies in the electoral rolls.
The decision was announced by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K. Ravi Kumar during a virtual review meeting with district election officials on Friday.
The meeting was attended by District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Deputy Election Officers, computer operators and BLO supervisors from across the state.
Reviewing the progress of the Special Intensive Revision, the CEO directed officials to speed up the digitisation of voter enumeration forms in districts where the work is lagging. He instructed them to organise special camps to complete the process within the prescribed deadline.
Kumar also announced that joint meetings of Booth Level Officers and Booth Level Agent-2 (BLA-2) representatives of recognised political parties will be held in all districts on July 14 alongside the Chunav Pathshala programme.
Describing the Special Intensive Revision as a vital exercise for strengthening democracy, the CEO stressed the need for active cooperation from political parties as well as voters. He appealed to all eligible electors to accurately fill out their enumeration forms and submit them to their respective BLOs without delay.
He also cautioned that only eligible Indian citizens are permitted to fill the enumeration forms. Referring to Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, Kumar said furnishing false information or submitting the form unlawfully by a foreign national is a punishable offence, and the concerned Electoral Registration Officer will be required to register an FIR in such cases.
To ensure smooth implementation of the exercise, the CEO said voters facing difficulties while filling out the forms can seek help from Booth Level Officers, volunteers or AI-based video tutorials released by the Chief Electoral Officer’s office. He instructed officials to maintain complete transparency and accuracy while updating the electoral rolls.
With inputs from IANS