In a proactive move to streamline the electoral process, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across Kolkata have initiated a door-to-door campaign. Their mission is to collect essential documents from voters who are currently unmapped in the electoral rolls. This effort is in preparation for upcoming hearings to be conducted by the Election Commission of India (EC).
Preparing for the Election Commission Hearing
Although the EC has not yet issued formal notices to these voters, BLOs are undertaking this document collection drive preemptively. Their goal is to avoid a last-minute rush, a situation they encountered during the initial voter enumeration work. The documents gathered will need to be presented during the EC hearing, where the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) will verify them against the information provided to the BLOs.
On the Ground: BLOs Explain the Process
A South Kolkata-based BLO provided details on the ongoing exercise. "The EC is preparing a list of unmapped voters who will be called for the hearing," the officer stated. "While no official list has been issued yet, I have started collecting documents from electors whose names were absent from the 2002 SIR (Summary Revision of Electoral Roll) list. Their names appear in the draft SIR roll released on December 16, but the final inclusion decision rests on the hearing's outcome. I have approximately 50 such voters from whom I am currently gathering papers."
Another BLO, operating in the Maniktala area, shed light on the reason for this unmapped status. "These voters did not complete the bottom section of the enumeration forms. We uploaded the forms as they were," the officer explained. "Now that the Commission plans to call them for a hearing, their documents must be produced. Anticipating who might receive the call, we are proactively requesting their documents to be prepared."
Variations in Document Handling
The approach to document safekeeping appears to vary among officers. While some BLOs are collecting papers now, others reported that they had already retained the documents of electors who were not mapped to the 2002 SIR list during the enumeration process itself. This discrepancy highlights the localized nature of the operation, though the overarching objective remains consistent: ensuring a smooth and efficient hearing process for voter validation.
This city-wide initiative underscores the administrative efforts to ensure no eligible voter is left out due to procedural gaps. The final electoral roll will be determined after the EC hearings, where the collected documents will play a crucial role in establishing voter eligibility.
