Over 10 lakh SIR forms identified as 'uncollectable' so far in West Bengal: CEO

Kolkata: Over 10 lakh SIR enumeration forms have so far been identified as "uncollectable" in West Bengal, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal said on Monday.

These forms are "uncollectable" since the voters were either absentee, duplicate, dead or permanently shifted, he said.

"Collection and digitisation of 4.55 crore forms have been completed till 4 pm today. Out of this, 10.33 lakh forms are uncollectable. This is real-time data," Agarwal said, noting that 7.64 crore forms have been distributed in the state.

For now, the "uncollectable" forms represent 1.35 per cent of the total forms distributed, he said.

Agarwal hailed the role of the booth-level officers (BLOs) in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, stating that they were the real heroes of the exercise.

He said many BLOs were working beyond office hours to reach voters and complete the formalities.

"BLOs are doing a commendable job. They are the real heroes of the SIR process. The process started on November 4, and within 20 days, they reached over 7 crore voters, which is not an easy task," he said.

More than 80,600 BLOs, along with around 8,000 supervisors, 3,000 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers and 294 Electoral Registration Officers, have been engaged for the SIR in the state.

Asked about internet issues being faced by BLOs, another election official said Wifi hubs have been set up for seamless connectivity.

"There are help desks in DM, ERO and BDO offices to help BLOs with data entry. Separate Wifi hubs have been set up wherever there are internet issues," he said.

The CEO said that if any BLO falls ill, the district magistrate is responsible for their medical care.

He said the EROs have full discretion to appoint alternative BLOs to prevent overburdening of staffers.

"If any BLO dies, DMs have been instructed to submit post-mortem reports, which will be forwarded to the Election Commission headquarters in Delhi," he said.

So far, three BLOs have died amid the SIR exercise in the state.

Agarwal emphasised that West Bengal is the only state where no punitive action has been taken against BLOs, and errors are being addressed with caution, but "deliberate wrongdoing will attract disciplinary measures".

Asked about Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raising concerns over prohibiting assigning contractual data entry operators from state-level support centres for the SIR, he said, "The EC's instruction clearly states that contractual staff cannot be employed. We have followed a tendering process similar to that in Bihar."

Banerjee wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his "immediate intervention" over two issues related to the SIR, including the one related to data entry operators.

She also objected to the EC's proposal to set up polling booths inside private residential complexes.

Asked about it, the CEO said, "This is a policy decision. The EC has taken this decision. I do not make any policy decisions myself."

According to data shared by the CEO's office, the top five districts in terms of progress of the SIR exercise are Purba Bardhaman (66.47 per cent), Alipurduar (66.41 per cent), Uttar Dinajpur (65.43 per cent), Malda (66.23 per cent), and Purba Medinipur (65.27 per cent).

The Gosaba assembly constituency in the North 24 Parganas district was noted as the best performing in the state, with 121 BLOs completing 100 per cent of their assigned tasks.

Some BLOs of Purba Medinipur, Dakshin Dinajpur, and Jalpaiguri districts were felicitated for completing their entire SIR-related work much ahead of schedule, an official said.