Nearly 20K personnel to take part in Delhi SIR

Nearly 20,000 personnel will be deployed in Delhi for the electoral rolls revision starting in April, with training for field staff already completed.

New Delhi

Officials with the office of Delhi’s chief electoral officer (CEO) said that preparatory work had already been completed and the training of a large contingent of field staff has been completed. (Representative photo)

Nearly 20,000 personnel are expected to be deployed in Delhi for the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls exercise that will start in April, officials familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Officials with the office of Delhi’s chief electoral officer (CEO) said that preparatory work had already been completed and the training of a large contingent of field staff has been completed.

“Booth-level officers (BLOs), electoral registration officers (EROs), assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) and other support staff will form the backbone of the revision drive,” an official, requesting not to be named, said.

There are more than 13,600 polling booths in Delhi and each booth will be manned by a BLO. The exercise will also require the services of data entry operators and BLO supervisors. Each BLO supervisor will head a team of 10-15 BLOs.

“Over 20,000 officials will be part of the SIR exercise. Most of them have already undergone training. Fresh training sessions will be organised for those who were not covered earlier,” a second senior official, wishing not to be named, said.

Officers said that an informal meeting was also held earlier on Friday on the matter.

Officials said that detailed guidelines regarding timelines, claims and objections, and verification procedures will be issued by the Election Commission closer in the run-up to the start of the drive.

The election machinery in Delhi had previously undertaken a round of capacity-building workshops and training modules to familiarise staff with the process and documentation requirements.

With the roll-out on the cards, authorities said coordination between district election offices and field-level functionaries is being streamlined to ensure a smooth and time-bound revision process.