ECI appoints 10 IAS officers as observers to oversee SIR in Odisha

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed 10 senior IAS officers as Electoral Roll Observers (ERO) to oversee the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) in the state, according to a notification issued on Friday.

The draft voters' list for Odisha is scheduled to be published on July 5.

In a notification, the office of Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) named 10 senior officers as the ERO to oversee the SIR of electoral rolls in the state with effect from July 1.

They have been asked to visit the districts assigned to them at least thrice during the SIR work, the notification said. During the revision process, each officer will have to undertake at least three rounds of field visits, including areas not within the district headquarters towns. The first visit will coincide with the period for receipt of claims and objections, with observers expected to be present in one of the districts under their charge on designated special campaign days, it said.

The second visit will take place during the disposal of claims and objections by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), while the third one will be conducted during verification of the working copy by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), printing of supplements, and final publication of the electoral roll.

The officers are also mandated to convene meetings with MPs, MLAs and representatives of recognised political parties to hear grievances related to the electoral roll revision and encourage their participation in the process. Members of the public will also be allowed to meet the observers to raise roll-related complaints.

The notification said that the details of the observers' tour programmes and contact numbers should be widely publicised in the districts under their charge. 

They also have to personally scrutinise reports submitted by District Election Officers in assembly constituencies where voter additions or deletions exceed one per cent above the district average or are more than three per cent in any constituency, it said.

The CEO also asked the observers to submit detailed reports after each visit based on the prescribed checklists issued by the Election Commission.