Hyderabad: As hearings related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls get under way across the city, but confusion persists over what documents electors need to carry in response to the notices they have received.
At centres across Hyderabad, voters are turning up with their papers in hand, only to find themselves unsure of what the procedure actually involves once they get there.
Queue at SIR hearing centres in Hyderabad
At various centres, people are seen standing in queues clutching documents, waiting for their turn. With the fate of their voting rights hanging in the balance, electors are submitting whatever paperwork they believe will establish their eligibility.
Some are seen hurrying off to the nearest photocopy centre midway through the process. It turns out that producing original documents is not enough on its own, with officials also asking for photocopies to be handed over.
During the hearing itself, electors’ signatures, photographs and documents are uploaded onto the Booth Level Officers (BLO) app. The hearings are being held for voters in both the unmapped and anomaly categories.
The scale of the exercise is considerable. Statewide, around 60.5 lakh electors have been flagged for anomalies in their enumeration data, while another 32.3 lakh could not be linked to the 2002 SIR rolls, taking the total number of voters facing notices to roughly 93 lakh.
From what Saisat.com observed, BLOs are taking no more than five minutes per elector to clear the cases.
Speaking to Siasat.com, Anil, a supervisor of BLOs in the Bahadurpura Assembly constituency, said voters need to carry documents based on the specific reason mentioned in their notice.
In anomaly cases, electors are being asked to establish their relationship with a person listed in the 2002 SIR rolls. Unmapped voters, on the other hand, must submit documents based on their date of birth. Those who arrive without the required papers, he said, will be given another date for the hearing.
What the electors say
Shazia, who attended a hearing centre in Bahadurpura, told Siasat.com that she received a notice because more than six people had been mapped to a single elector in the 2002 SIR list. She submitted the documents required to prove her eligibility, and while she had no complaints about the cooperation extended by the BLO and the BLO supervisor, she said the sitting arrangements at the centre left much to be desired.
Nazia, who was served a notice over a mismatch between her father’s name in the current electoral roll and the 2002 list, admitted to being nervous ahead of her hearing. Speaking to Siasat.com afterwards, she said her documents had been uploaded successfully on the BLO app.
Another elector, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that although he had replied to his notice without difficulty, he was left wondering about the logic behind receiving one at all, given that his mapping had gone through successfully.
Mohammed Mustafa, who received a notice over a gap of less than 15 years between his age and his father’s, said he submitted his SSC memo and Aadhaar card to establish his eligibility.
What electors must know
The Chief Electoral Officer has directed BLOs to serve notices in person, obtain acknowledgements and remind electors of the date, time and venue of their hearing at least two days in advance, with a mandatory seven-day notice period to be maintained throughout.
For those unable to attend in person, such as senior citizens, electors with disabilities, overseas voters or anyone who is unwell, a family member above the age of 18 may submit documents and appear before the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) on their behalf.
The CEO has also cautioned that documents submitted during hearings will be independently verified and that furnishing false, forged or misleading papers or declarations amounts to a criminal offence under Section 217 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Receiving a notice does not mean a voter has been struck off the rolls. It means the elector must furnish the information or documents sought. Electors are advised to retain copies of everything they submit, along with any acknowledgement or reference number.
The hearings will continue until October 15, with the final electoral roll scheduled for publication on October 19.
