E-Paper
Revenue dept staff to boycott SIR work in TN citing overload
Some BLOs such as Anganwadi workers and staff involved in the noon meal scheme, municipal corporation workers, find it difficult to complete the task on time as they have not been given any training on the digital aspects of the exercise, officials said
Chennai: Revenue staff across Tamil Nadu will boycott all work related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls from November 18 because of excessive workload, the Federation of Revenue Associations (FERA) has announced.
This comes amid several parties including the ruling DMK coalition in Tamil Nadu opposing SIR being conducted just months before the 2026 assembly elections. The state-wide boycott demands training for all officials, appointment of additional Booth Level Officers, citing severe workload, insufficient training, poor planning, and lack of manpower.
A Booth Level Officer (BLO) is expected to distribute about 1,200 Enumeration Forms (EFs) and collect them within two days, though the last date for submitting the EFs is December 4 so it can be digitised, said an office bearer of FERA who did not wish to be named.
Some BLOs such as Anganwadi workers and staff involved in the noon meal scheme, municipal corporation workers, find it difficult to complete the task on time as they have not been given any training on the digital aspects of the exercise, he added. “It is extremely difficult to complete such a huge exercise within a short period of time which we are doing besides our everyday workload and responsibilities,” said a BLO from an assembly constituency in Chennai who did not wish to be named.
A majority of government employees involved in SIR on the ground are staff of the revenue department officials. They include Village Administrative Officers (VAOs), surveyors, inspectors who are expected to participate in the boycott by not distributing and receiving forms and attending review meetings. FERA has already sent a representation on the issue to the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Tamil Nadu, Archana Patnaik. The state election body has not responded to the boycott.
As of November 17 in Tamil Nadu 94.31% EFs have been distributed of which 9.62% have been digitised, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said in its bulletin. The ongoing SIR concludes on December 4 and involves distributing and collecting forms, uploading them online, and holding meetings.
On Monday, some of the staff protested in front of taluk and district headquarters seeking the intervention of the ECI and the state election body. “Review meetings are being held until midnight and we demanded that this should be stopped,” the FERA member said.
