Mumbai: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra by 10 days, after the state reported slow progress in the exercise. The enumeration, originally scheduled to wrap up on July 29, will now conclude on August 8.
Under the revised schedule announced on Friday, the draft electoral rolls will be published on August 17, instead of August 5. Citizens can file claims and objections between August 17 and September 16, which will be heard and disposed of by October 15. The final electoral rolls will be published on October 19.
“Like other states, we also have received an extension of 10 days, and we expect the exercise to be completed by the extended deadline. Except for some cities like Mumbai and Thane, the exercise is going on as per expectations. We had demanded the extension due to the heavy rainfall in the state in the first week of July,” said Manohar Parkar, joint chief electoral officer, Maharashtra.
Apart from the weather, the SIR process has also progressed slowly, particularly in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), due to factors such as missing electoral records, frequent address changes caused by redevelopment and migration, voters with multiple residences requiring additional verification, and the heavy workload on booth-level officers (BLOs), many of whom are teachers.
According to ECI data, only 35.16% of Maharashtra’s voters have been enumerated so far. Progress has been significantly slower in MMR, with Mumbai Suburban recording 8.38%, Mumbai City 15.36%, and Thane 8.41%.
