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SIR hearings draw lukewarm response in Hyderabad
In Short
Hyderabad’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls faces a sluggish voter turnout for mandatory hearings as the October 7 deadline approaches, prompting urgent appeals from election officials.
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Hyderabad: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Hyderabad district is facing a lukewarm response from voters, with a large majority of those served notices failing to turn up for mandatory hearings, even as only a week remains for the October 7 deadline.
Officials involved in the revision process have been conducting hearings to verify details of voters whose names and particulars require scrutiny. However, the poor turnout has emerged as a major concern. The difficulty in obtaining or producing required documents appears to be discouraging voters from attending the hearings.
A Booth Level Officer (BLO) at Malakpet said voters flagged under the no-mapping and anomaly categories are required to produce three to four categories of supporting documents during verification, which is proving difficult for many. Election authorities are also seeking clarifications over age-related anomalies, the BLO said.
Citizens said the problem is particularly acute among families where there is a significant age difference between the present generation and their parents, as well as among siblings. Voters said clarifying age-related discrepancies has created difficulties in establishing family details, as the present verification process relies on digitised records, whereas entries were manually recorded earlier. The Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) of Charminar Assembly Constituency said anomaly cases would be verified and approved by AEROs or EROs. In no-mapping cases, the software will automatically forward the documents to the District Election Officer (DEO), who will verify the documents submitted against the notice.
Sharing his experience at hearing centres, he said many electors were not turning up according to the schedule specified in the notices. “However, we are accepting documents and conducting hearings to ensure that no eligible voter is left out,” he added.
Hyderabad DEO RV Karnan said the notice process was particularly significant as voters flagged during SIR verification may be required to furnish supporting documents. “The Election Commission has prescribed 12 different document requirements depending on the elector’s date of birth, including documents relating to the elector and, where applicable, parents.”
He urged voters who have received notices not to ignore them and to attend hearings with the necessary documents to safeguard their names in the electoral rolls.
