Pune: Electoral registration officers in Pune division will hear 50 to 150 SIR cases every day after publication of the draft electoral rolls. Chief electoral officer S Chockalingam told officials on Tuesday to use daily dashboard data to set clear targets for disposal of cases and ensure that voters are troubled.At a review meeting for five districts in Pune division, he directed officials to ensure that matters are disposed of in the stipulated time-frame. Chockalingam said the next phase would be more challenging and told officials to ensure that field staff and BLOs are not placed under undue pressure.The administration has planned the next phase with a focus on unmapped voters, absent-shifted-dead-deceased-others categories, claims and objections and hearings. Officials will ensure clear communication after publication of the draft roll so that voters are not confused.The division has 2.16 crore voters across 59 assembly constituencies in Pune division, and 1.69 crore are mapped and digitised. Nearly 47 lakh voters are in the uncollectable category and will not be included in the final publication of draft roll.Divisional commissioner Sheetal Teli-Ugle said the division has 21,237 polling stations across five districts. “Electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) have already been appointed and they will ensure a seamless process. BLOs will ensure that notices reach voters through different modes of communication. In the division, around 26 lakh voters under the unmapped and logical discrepancies categories will have to come for a hearing. But no eligible voter will be left out. Those in the ASDDO categories can fill Form 6 and register again,” she added.Officials will have booth-wise data to identify and process cases, while hearings will be planned according to local requirements and convenience. Roll observers will visit the districts three times to review the process.Unmapped voters and those flagged for logical discrepancies will get particular attention. Officials have been instructed to undertake verification based on documents and in accordance with legal provisions and ECI guidelines.Chockalingam said available cellphone numbers, photo identity cards and other valid identification documents should be used to make contact and verification easier.Head: Clear plans for next phaseBest practices I Officials can study methods adopted in other states for serving notices, collecting documents and conducting preliminary verification, and adapt them to local conditions.Easy verification I Available cellphone numbers, photo identity cards and other valid documents should be used to streamline contact and verification.Public communication I District-level social media teams, media relations teams and election officials will be active and provide citizens with clear and accurate information.Claims and hearings I Voters should be clearly informed about the process for filing objections and attending hearings.“Although the work in the next phase is more challenging, there will be clear planning, daily analysis of available data, compliance with legal process and transparent communication with citizens,” S Chockalingam, State Chief Electoral Officer, said.
