MUMBAI: Behind the political battles and growing questions over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of India’s electoral rolls are thousands of people working largely out of sight. They weave through narrow lanes, knock on doors, verify identities and chase missing details, often working against the clock to ensure that no name is wrongly left out. These are the foot soldiers of a vast democratic exercise – the people on whose work the right to vote ultimately depends.
The SIR is a highly structured exercise. Now everything has moved online, taking some of the pressure off us. But there are challenges as well. “We have to work longer hours during the SIR. It has been very hectic as we have to complete the exercise in just six months.
Each polling station in the state has 1,000-1,200 registered voters, and each BLO is assigned one polling booth. This means handling the voter registration details of more than 1,000 citizens during the SIR cycle – from April to October before the final electoral rolls are announced on November 16. There was a complete change in the ECI’s approach after alleged irregularities in the SIR surfaced and revised guidelines were announced on September 30, says an assistant ERO (AERO) from Govandi. “We used to conduct 75 to 90 hearings a day.
“The list of documents accepted as residential proof and nationality were expanded, and personal hearings for voters who were flagged were done away with,” he says. Lack of resources and frequently changing guidelines compounded our difficulties,” said an ERO.
But, for many BLOs, discharging academic duties alongside SIR work can be overwhelming. When teachers spend so much time away from classrooms, how will the government assess students’ academic progress? Another sore point is the lack of sufficient remuneration. However, it’s the frontline cadres – largely teachers – who bear the brunt. Vikas Ghuge, a teacher from a Ghatkopar-based BMC school, explains, “Teachers are always the first choice to implement government schemes. Likewise, we have to work on the Adult Education Programme and keep a track daily of the Midday Meal stock. We are constantly roped in for non-academic work.”
Around 60% of BLOs are teachers in municipal and government-aided schools, and the rest Class III employees working in government and semi-government offices such as the Collector’s Office and local bodies. BLOs receive ₹ 12,000 a year for conducting the ongoing annual Summary Revision (SSR) of the electoral rolls, and an additional ₹ 6,000 for this year’s SIR. EROs, who are Class I government employees, receive an annual remuneration of ₹ 30,000 for ongoing SSR work, while Assistant EROs receive ₹ 25,000. There are 7,000 AEROs in the state, and one ERO for each of the 288 assembly constituencies. From May 16 to June 15, thousands of teachers were deployed on Census duty.
Conducting the SIR in Maharashtra are 1,00,300 “Booth Level Officers”, or “BLOs”, three letters that, along with “SIR”, have entered everyday conversation in recent times. Nanda Kamble, vice-president of Shikshak Bharati, a teachers’ organisation, says, “This year, the government will be conducting periodic assessment tests after Diwali, although these were to be held in August.
