Ranchi: Jharkhand chief electoral officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar instructed officials to ensure that all voters of one family or household are listed at the same polling station during the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Reviewing SIR work in all assembly constituencies of Ranchi district on Sunday, Kumar said, “Proper verification of the nazari naksha, house numbers, and notional house numbers is the responsibility of the electoral registration officer (ERO) concerned.”TOI recently reported that many families were facing problems because members of the same household were enrolled at different booths. BLOs had also complained that family members’ names were spread across booths instead of being registered at one polling station.Speaking to TOI, Kumar said, “We have noticed that voters of a family are divided across various polling booths, and we intend to correct it during the ongoing SIR exercise.”“If a BLO commits an error or doubts arise over the nazari naksha or notional house numbering, the supervisor must correct it. If supervisors show laxity, assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) or EROs should take action and ensure that all electors in a family are enrolled in the same polling station,” he added.He directed BLO supervisors to regularly monitor errors and correct them immediately so that booth-level officers (BLOs) do not face difficulties in identifying voters and houses. “BLO supervisors will be accountable for accurate execution of BLO work,” he added.Directing officers to discharge responsibilities with transparency, impartiality and sensitivity while strictly following Election Commission of India instructions, the state CEO said, “Every application, claim-objection, notice and document must be examined as per rules. Electoral roll cases should be disposed of only after verification of facts and documents through clear, reasoned speaking orders, while giving voters adequate opportunity to present their case.”Stating that the SIR aims “to prepare a pure, error-free, and accurate electoral roll”, he warned that “negligence or laxity at any level in this work will not be tolerated”.
