Noida: To ease the special intensive revision (SIR) process and reduce inconvenience for voters flagged as “unmapped”, the Gautam Budh Nagar district administration has rolled out a series of voter-friendly measures, including hearings via video calls, doorstep document verification and decentralised hearing camps in residential pockets with high concentrations of such voters.The changes are aimed at ensuring that no eligible voter is excluded simply because they are unable to attend hearings in person due to work, education or other personal constraints, DM Medha Roopam said.
The district has around 1.7 lakh unmapped voters, with notices served sequentially to 95% of people whose mapping could not be done using the 2003 SIR voter list based on the details provided in their enumeration forms.Under the revised system, the district administration has introduced virtual hearings, a facility rolled out specifically in Gautam Budh Nagar, for voters who are currently out of station, particularly those working in the private sector or pursuing higher education and are temporarily away from home.“For voters who are not physically present in the district, an online alternative has been provided,” the DM said. Under this system, voters can verify their details through a video call with their BLO. Soft copies of required documents can be shared digitally, verified during the call and uploaded on the app by the BLO. The interaction is then recorded as an online hearing.“The objective is inclusion, not exclusion,” Roopam said, adding that the administration consciously moved away from a one-size-fits-all, centre-based hearing model after feedback from voters and field officials.Where large numbers of unmapped notices have been issued in a particular housing society or locality, the administration has opted for decentralised hearing camps. Assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) have also started organising hearings within residential societies and local pockets, allowing voters to complete verification closer to home. “If an entire society or a large pocket has been identified, it makes more sense to take the hearing to the voters rather than calling everyone to one central location,” the DM said.So far, 114 special camps have been organised across the district at the booth and society levels. Hearings have also been rescheduled following public feedback. Several voters told officials that weekday hearings clashed with office hours and other commitments. In response, the administration has shifted most hearings to weekends to improve participation among working voters.Unmapped voters have also been exempted from physically appearing at a hearing centre for document verification. Instead, booth-level officers (BLOs), who are already conducting door-to-door visits to serve notices, have been authorised to collect documents at the voter’s residence itself.“During the home visit, the BLO can collect documents, upload them on the BLO app and also take and upload a photograph. This entire process will be treated as a valid hearing,” Roopam said.Officials said the “home hearing” model was designed with senior citizens, persons with disabilities, women managing households and daily-wage earners in mind. The approach, the DM added, followed directions issued by the state election commission to make the verification process more inclusive.Voters born before July 1, 1987, will only need to present documents related to themselves, whereas voters born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, will also need to present documents for one of their parents. Voters born after December 2, 2004, will have to present documents identifying themselves and both their parents.In Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission has extended the deadline for filing claims and objections under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercise. Voters can now submit Forms 6, 7 and 8 till March 6, 2026, to add their names, seek corrections or request deletions from the electoral rolls. The earlier deadline was February 6. The Election Commission will dispose of all claims and objections by March 27, after which the final electoral roll will be published on April 10.In Jan, the state election commission had allowed unmapped voters to authorise another person in writing by signing or affixing a thumb impression to appear for the physical hearing on their behalf.UP chief electoral officer Navdeep Rinwa, who was in Noida on Tuesday to review the SIR exercise, also interacted with around 500 BLOs from the district’s three tehsils — Dadri, Sadar and Jewar — during a “samvad”. BLOs shared their on-ground experiences, challenges and learnings from the exercise, with officials saying such feedback would help the election commission to further streamline procedures. Some BLOs also shared how they have faced resistance or harsh reactions during verification drives, particularly in densely populated residential areas. Officials said resident welfare associations, apartment owners’ associations and the district administration had to step in where required to support field staff.
