Kolkata: Amid controversies over the identity-proof document verification during SIR, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and the District Magistrates (DMs), who are also the District Electoral Officers (DEOs), to send separate reports on the progress of document verification daily henceforth.
The Commission, at the same time, had also directed the EROs and DEOs to follow a two-stage document verification process, the first by the EROs and the second by the DEOs, sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said.
At the same time, the Commission had also specified the roles of the special roll observers and micro-observers in the process of document authentication.
On one hand, the CEO’s office sources said, the micro-observers present at the hearing centres will thoroughly supervise whether the supporting identity documents furnished by voters during the hearing session are being checked by EROs and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) as per the guidelines set by the ECI.
At the same time, the micro-observers have been asked to bring to the notice of the Commission any major and large-scale deviation from the ECI-set guidelines.
On the other hand, the Commission had also authorised the special roll observers to conduct random checking of the documents verified and authenticated by the DMs, as well as the DEOs, at the second stage of authentication.
“The Commission believes that the daily and separate reports on document verification by the EROs and the DEOs are necessary for speedy progress in the matter, considering that the final voters’ list will be published on February 14,” said a source in the CEO’s office.
Currently, the hearing sessions are on for the “unmapped” voters, who have no link with the 2002 voters’ list in West Bengal, either through “self-mapping” or “progeny-mapping”.
In the second stage, “logical discrepancy” cases, people with weird family tree data identified during “progeny-mapping”, will be summoned for hearings.
The final voters’ list will be published on February 14. Shortly after that, the Commission is expected to announce the polling dates for the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal scheduled later this year.
