SIR: Voters should not face inconvenience in claim resolution due to monsoon: Purushottam
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
The chief electoral officer (CEO) Uttarakhand, BVRC Purushottam has directed the commissioners of Garhwal and Kumaon and all the district magistrates that the voters should not face any inconvenience during the next phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls which is also coinciding with the monsoon period in the State. He gave the directive during a video conferencing session with divisional commissioners and DMs on Friday.
The second phase of SIR is commencing from July 14 and it includes draft publication of electoral rolls, issuances of notices to the voters and the disposal of claims and objections. He directed that special arrangements be made in advance for responding to notices and hearing claims and objections, in view of road blockages and disruptions in traffic during the monsoon season in mountainous districts. The CEO added that adequate arrangements for electricity, water, internet connectivity, scanners and photocopy machines should be made at the locations where electoral registration officers (ERO) and assistant electoral registration officers (AERO) will hear voter notices. He directed that a roster be prepared for cluster camps at the Nyaya Panchayat level to resolve claims and objections in mountainous areas. For the convenience of voters in the plains, a roster for camps should be prepared at the Municipal Corporation, Nagar Panchayat and ward levels, in addition to the Tehsils.
The CEO also directed all the DMs to nominate nodal officers from the departments concerned for document verification to assist the EROs and AEROs. He said that along with 70 EROs, 800 AEROs have also been deployed in the state. He directed the districts that proposals for increasing the number of AEROs should be made available to the CEO’s office by Saturday. The divisional commissioners were told to conduct field visits and on-site inspections of the districts from July 14.
