SIR in Gujarat: Over 44 lakh voters couldn't be mapped, 74 lakh forms not submitted

Ahmedabad, Dec 17 (PTI) Authorities on Wednesday said over 44 lakh voters could not be mapped in Gujarat, while 74 lakh enumeration forms were not submitted back by voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

The exercise of distributing and collecting enumeration forms ended on December 14 following an extension and the draft electoral rolls will be published on December 19, a release by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) stated.

At the end of the first phase of SIR, launched in early November, it was revealed that forms were distributed to 5.08 crore voters across the state. Of these, 4.34 crore voters have returned the forms, which means that nearly 74 lakh voters did not submit the documents after collecting them from the Booth-Level Officers (BLOs), said the release.

Further, out of 4.34 crore voters who have returned the forms, about 44.45 lakh voters could not be mapped, it said.

"It means that though these voters have submitted the forms and their names are there in the present voter list, they could not find their names in the electoral rolls of 2002. Now, we will serve them notices and ask them to produce any valid proofs (of residence/identity)," said Additional CEO Ashok Patel.

At the end of the enumeration phase, it was also noticed that close to 18.07 lakh deceased voters still figured in the current voters list, said the release.

While 9.69 lakh voters were found absent from their address when BLOs approached them, 40.26 lakh were found to have permanently migrated elsewhere, said the release.

Also, 3.81 lakh people were found to be 'repeat' voters having their name registered at two places in electoral rolls.

After the publication of draft rolls, objections and claims regarding them can be submitted to authorities till January 18.

Citizens whose names are not included in the draft rolls for any reason, can get their themselves included in the list by filling Form 6 along with valid proofs, said the release. PTI PJT PD RSY