Dehradun district election officer Dr BVRC Purushottam has sought explanations from heads of 70 departments who have failed to submit names and other necessary details of their subordinates for election duty to the district information office on time.
These officers have been directed to submit the information to the DIO within three days and officers who fail to meet the deadline will face official action, he warned.
Purushottam said that as per Election Commission of India’s guidelines, the election office is responsible for enabling Government employees on poll duty to exercise their franchise in the coming lok Sabha election. These employees will cast their vote using employee postal ballot or by showing election duty identity card at their assigned polling booth, he added.
“The department heads were recently directed to submit information about their subordinates to the district information office but some of them have failed to do so. Taking cognisance of this, we have sought an explanation from around 70 department heads and sought the information within three days. Action will be taken against them according to ECI guidelines if they fail to do so,” he added.
Purushottam said that sub-divisional magistrates, assistant returning officers and district officers appointed as nodal officers should execute their assigned duties within stipulated time. The assistant returning officers have been directed to periodically review works assigned to their subordinates and ensure that all eligible voters are included in the voters’ list in their jurisdiction.
The zonal and sector magistrates have been directed to periodically inspect polling booths under their purview and after reviewing past and current status of polling booths, submit a report on categorisation of polling booths, he added.