E-Paper
Why Election Commission left out J&K, Ladakh and Himachal from SIR rollout
According to the ECI, the schedule for Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will be issued separately at a later stage.
The Election Commission announced the rollout of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 16 states and three Union Territories from May 30.
The states and UTs where the SIR will be carried out are Delhi, Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Tripura, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
It excluded Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh from the exercise for now, citing weather-related challenges and operational constraints in snow-bound and high-altitude areas.
Also Read | SIR: ECI rolls out Phase III voter roll revision across 16 states, 3 UTs
What did Election Commission say on Himanchal, J&K and Ladakh?
According to the ECI, the schedule for Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will be issued separately at a later stage, after the completion of Phase-II of the Census and due to weather-related challenges in high-altitude and snow-bound regions.
It added that the rollout in these regions has been deferred due to operational constraints and difficult terrain conditions, and will be notified once field deployment becomes feasible.
“After considering the completion of Phase-II of the Census in these three State/UTs and due consideration of the weather in the upper reaches/snow-bound areas, SIR schedule for these three State/UTs will be announced later,” EC said in a press note.
Also Read | Delhi, Maharashtra, 17 other states/UTs in SIR Phase 3: EC announces rollout
CEC on SIR on 16 states and 2 UTs
Speaking on the initiative, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said, “I appeal to all electors to enthusiastically participate in Phase III of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and fill their Enumeration Forms,” Kumar said.
“SIR is being conducted with the objective to ensure that only eligible voters are included in the electoral roll and no ineligible names are included,” he added.
During SIR Phase III, over 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers will go house-to-house to 36.73 crore electors.
The SIR has already been conducted in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
A "special revision" was conducted in Assam.
