The Ghaziabad district administration has launched a focused drive to clean up its electoral rolls, concentrating on polling booths where a significant portion of voters are listed under problematic categories. The initiative targets booths where more than 40% of voters are marked as 'Absent', 'Shifted', 'Dead', or are potential 'Duplicate' entries—collectively known as ASD.
Precision Deployment to Tackle Error-Prone Segments
To bring accuracy to these error-prone segments, the administration has assigned 102 officials to oversee the verification process. Each officer is responsible for covering five to six booths and physically verifying at least 50 households. Saurabh Bhatt, the Additional District Magistrate (Finance/Revenue) overseeing the exercise, stated that this hands-on approach is crucial. "Booths where ASDs cross the 40% mark need close attention," he explained. "This is the only way to ensure that genuine voters are not wrongly flagged and that the rolls remain credible."
Officials have informed political representatives that the Election Commission has activated a rollback feature to prevent permanent errors. If a Booth Level Officer (BLO) mistakenly categorises an eligible voter as ASD, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) can correct the record and re-enable the form on the BLO's mobile application.
Addressing Migration Challenges and Political Concerns
Bhatt emphasized that this safeguard is essential for Ghaziabad, a district with unusually high migration rates. "Ghaziabad sees constant movement in and out of Delhi. Errors are bound to occur. What matters is that we correct them quickly," he said. The district's unique demographic flux makes meticulous verification a necessity.
Political party representatives have raised alarms about sharp discrepancies in specific areas, notably in Khoda and Makanpur under the Sahibabad assembly constituency. They report that large numbers of residents have moved out recently. A stark example is Booth 536 in Sahibabad, where fewer than 100 of the 750 registered voters have received their crucial enumeration forms. Parties have warned that close to five lakh voters might face rejection if these forms are not secured and submitted on time.
Accelerated Outreach and Current Progress
Acknowledging the challenge, the administration has posted 40 supervisors in Sahibabad to accelerate voter outreach. Municipal staff are now assisting BLOs in tracing voters within dense residential clusters. "We're focusing on households that are hardest to track," Bhatt added. He has also urged political parties to activate their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) and collaborate closely with the BLOs on the ground.
District Election Officer and DM Ravindra Kumar Mander provided an update on the overall progress. He stated that while all enumeration forms have been distributed, 54% have been digitised so far. Furthermore, physical mapping—linking current voters' names to the 2003 electoral rolls—stands at 38.43%. Ghaziabad has a substantial electoral base of over 28.37 lakh voters, managed by more than 3,000 BLOs and supported by 10,451 BLAs appointed by various political parties.
