ECI revises SIR timeline in Delhi again; final roll to be published on October 27

This marks the second time the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll has been revised in Delhi by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday extended the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi, revising the schedule for the exercise and pushing the publication of the final electoral roll to October 27.

Booth level officers (BLOs) will continue house-to-house verification until August 17, instead of concluding earlier on August 8. (PTI)

According to the order, booth level officers (BLOs) will continue house-to-house verification until August 17, instead of concluding earlier on August 8. Rationalisation and re-arrangement of polling stations will also be completed on August 17, while the draft electoral roll will now be published on August 24, instead of August 17.

“The Commission has decided to revise the said schedule for NCT of Delhi,” the order stated.

The Commission has scheduled the period for filing claims and objections from August 24 to September 23. Notices and disposal of claims and objections will take place between August 24 and October 22, following which the final electoral roll will be published on October 27, instead of October 19, the order stated.

Previous revision to SIR timeline

This is the second revision to the SIR timeline. Earlier, the ECI had extended the house-to-house verification period to August 10 and rescheduled the publication of the draft electoral roll to August 17, while retaining September 15 as the qualifying date for the exercise. The latest revision further extends the verification period by a week and shifts all subsequent stages, including the publication of the final electoral roll, by 10 days.

ECI further directed that all concerned officials be informed of the revised programme and that all political parties will also be informed of the changes in writing.

The revised schedule follows a request from the chief electoral officer (CEO), Delhi, seeking an extension of the exercise, according to the Commission’s communication.

According to official data, BLOs have digitised 9,175,000 enumeration forms, or 63.23% of the nearly 1.45 crore electoral forms distributed as of 8 pm on August 4. Distribution of forms is virtually complete at 99.99%, with 1.45 crore forms issued. North Delhi has recorded the highest digitisation rate at 73.33%, followed by Southwest (71.33%) and West (70.13%). Southeast has the lowest digitisation at 50.60%, while East (57.10%) and South (56.76%) also remain on the lower side.