Officers in UP face the music for ‘negligence’ in SIR drive

FIR, suspension and notices...action initiated against supervisors, BLOs for ‘dereliction of duty’; 9.21% enumeration forms digitised till Friday

LUCKNOW Action has been initiated against officers, supervisors and booth level officers (BLOs) in various districts for alleged negligence in electoral roll revision work, a day after UP chief electoral officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa pulled up district election officers (DEOs) over delay in distribution of enumeration forms and slow digitisation of voter submissions under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In a review meeting on Thursday, the CEO had warned DEOs whose districts recorded slow progress in digitisation. (Pic for representation)

In Prayagraj, notices have been served on six officials for negligence in voter list revision, allowances of seven BLOs suspended and FIR filed against one BLO. In Bulandshahr and Bareilly, eight BLOs have been booked for negligence in distributing, collecting and digitising voter enumeration forms. Two BLOs in Bahraich have been suspended for negligence in SIR work.

The action against these personnel reflected in the SIR data on Friday as the enumeration forms distribution data increased to 99.57% and the digitisation graph rose to 9.21%. Out of the 15,44,30,092 voters in the state, enumeration forms have been distributed among 15,37,71,608 voters while 1,42,20,715 enumeration forms have been digitised.

In a review meeting on Thursday, the CEO had warned DEOs whose districts recorded slow progress in digitisation. The ECI and CEO’s offices are continuously monitoring work of all personnel involved in SIR and action will be taken against those found negligent in duty.

PRAYAGRAJ

Two officials and four supervisors have been issued “show-cause” notices for negligence, while allowances of 7 BLOs have been suspended. An FIR has also been ordered against one BLO, according to directives issued by ACM (III) Heeralal Saini.

The lapses came to light during the training of BLOs at three designated centres, where four supervisors failed to report. Notices have been issued to: Ramkumar, assistant teacher at booth No 10, Kalyanpur; Umesh Chandra, assistant teacher supervising booths 29–39 in Umariyabadal; Deepak Tripathi, assistant teacher at booths 282–293; and Mandhesh Dhirendra Saroj, assistant teacher at booths 293–300.

Supervision lapses by officials have prompted the assistant election officer and the child development project officer of Holagarh, along with naib tehsildar of Nawabganj, to seek detailed explanations.

The allowances of several BLOs have been suspended due to zero form feeding or unauthorized activities.

In a more serious case, an FIR has been directed against Shakuntala Yadav, anganwadi worker and BLO of booth No. 48, Primary School Vrisinpur (Ramgarh), for refusing to accept the required electoral forms.

MEERUT

As the SIR of electoral rolls intensifies, authorities in Bulandshahr and Bareilly have launched a stringent crackdown on BLOs for alleged dereliction of duty.

Over the past week, at least eight FIRs have been registered against BLOs here for alleged negligence in distributing, collecting and digitising voter enumeration forms.

The SIR campaign launched on October 25 aims to update electoral rolls in nine states, including UP, by December 9. BLOs, who are mostly school teachers and local officials, are tasked with door-to-door verification to ensure accurate voter lists.

However, with only 16% of forms digitised nationwide as of November 19, complaints of delays and non-compliance have surged, prompting swift administrative action.

In Bulandshahr, Sikandrabad SDM Rakesh Kumar directed police to file FIRs against six BLOs on November 19 under the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The officers, from the Naugadh development block, were accused of failing to report for duty on time, shirking responsibilities, and delaying form collection.

“We cannot compromise on the timeline for a clean electoral roll. These BLOs showed blatant indifference despite repeated warnings,” the SDM said.

The move has created ripples among BLOs, many of whom are citing workload pressure and logistical challenges, such as matching forms against outdated rolls. A senior official revealed that preliminary probes found over 1,000 forms pending in the affected booths.

In Bareilly, two FIRs were registered on November 20 at Bithari Chainpur police station against BLOs Priya Gupta and Rukhsar Fatima. A routine review by ADM (First) Neha Dubey uncovered lapses in form distribution during house-to-house surveys in Baheri and Meerganj assembly segments. The officers allegedly skipped verification visits and submitted incomplete reports.

“The BLOs in question were given ample opportunities to rectify their shortcomings. Their negligence directly impacts voter inclusion, especially among the marginalised communities,” Dubey noted.

BAHRAICH

Two BLOs in Bahraich have been suspended for negligence in SIR work. The action was taken by district basic education officer (BSA) AK Singh on the instructions of DEO and DM Akshay Tripathi. The suspended employees include headmistress Shama Nafees and assistant teacher Anurag.

Shama Nafees was deployed in room no. 1 of polling station 322, Primary School Mohammad Nagar (Badhaaipurwa). According to the BSA, she failed to report for duty despite repeated directions issued by SDM, BDO Chittaura, tehsildar and BEO Chittaura. The BSA said on November 17, BEO Anurag Kumar Mishr visited the school to ensure her presence, but Nafees submitted a medical leave application instead. Officials said it amounted to disobeying orders during a crucial election-related exercise. She was suspended for defying instructions from higher authorities.

Assistant teacher Anurag, posted as a BLO in Assembly Constituency Balha (282), was found to be neglecting SIR work. His absence from duty was highlighted in a report submitted by Lekhpal Harvansh Prasad during the daily review of counting form distribution.