SIR in Tamil Nadu: Enumeration forms distributed to 3.93 crore voters in first week

Chennai: Enumeration forms as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls have been distributed to about 3.93 crore voters in Tamil Nadu in the first week of the exercise which is being opposed by the ruling DMK and its allies.

Data released by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Tamil Nadu said the forms have reached 61.34 per cent of the voters registered with the Election Commission of India (ECI), even as over 4,700 voters used the digital form.

Perambalur district in Central Tamil Nadu topped the list with 94.41 per cent of forms (5.57 lakh of the total 5.90 lakh voters) distributed between November 4 and November 10, while Chengalpattu district recorded the lowest with just 22.8 percent of forms (6.37 lakh of 27.8 lakh voters) being distributed.

BLOs in Chennai could only distribute forms to 13 lakh of the total 40.05 lakh voters registered in the city. Of the 4,713 digitized Enumeration Forms, the maximum (397) were received from Tiruvallur, followed by Chennai (384), Chengalpattu (359), and Coimbatore (287).

Sources told DH that the EFs for the remaining 2.47 crore voters are likely to be distributed by the end of this week, which will give about two to three weeks’ time for electors to fill the forms and submit it to their respective Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

They said about 69,000 BLOs, monitored by supervisors, have been involved in distributing the EFs to voters in the addresses mentioned in the last SIR conducted in 2002 for the rest of TN and 2005 for Chennai and its neighbouring districts.

Though the CEO said the EF distribution has been smooth across the state, political parties, especially the ruling DMK, feel otherwise. A helpline set up by the ruling party has been receiving at least 600 to 700 calls a day from its Booth Level Agents (BLAs) in the state about discrepancies in the exercise.

The ruling party has also set up a dedicated helpline for people to get their doubts cleared.

Reports from the ground also say that in many areas, even the BLOs, do not have a clear understanding of the way SIR works. In many localities in big cities like Chennai, one booth has several BLOs making it tough for voters to contact the respective officers and fill the form.

Voters are also struggling to locate the booth where they voted two decades back and complain that no help is forthcoming from officials concerned.

Prabhakar, who lives in Guduvanchery on the outskirts of Chennai, told DH that he and two of his family members found names of three different BLOs despite all of their names figuring in the same booth.

“All three have so far told us that they are not in-charge of our booth. We checked on our own because we didn’t want to miss the exercise. We are hoping that the EFs reach us soon,” Prabhakar said. He added that finding details about the booth and BLOs are becoming difficult in urban localities as no one has a clue about anything.

Jeeva, who is into teaching, said he has been trying to find out where his name figures as he has changed his residence twice in the last two decades. “I have tried checking with BLOs in two areas where I resided but to no avail. This process is becoming cumbersome due to lack of proper arrangements and information,” he said.