The Election Commission has announced the commencement of Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls in 16 states and three union territories from May 30.
The states and union territories where SIR will be implemented are Delhi, Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Tripura, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh have been excluded from the exercise for the time being, citing weather-related challenges and operational limitations in snow-covered and high-altitude areas.
Read also | Sir: ECI is rolling out the third phase of revision of voter lists across 16 states and 3 states
What did the Election Commission say about Himanchal, J&K and Ladakh?
According to the Election Commission of India, the schedule for Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will be released separately at a later stage, after the completion of the second phase of the census and due to weather-related challenges in high altitude and snow-covered areas.
She added that the launch in these areas has been postponed due to operational restrictions and difficult terrain conditions, and you will be notified as soon as field deployment becomes possible.
“After considering the completion of the second phase of census in these three states/union territories and considering the weather in the upper regions/snow-covered regions, the SIR schedule for these three states/union territories will be announced at a later date,” the EC said in a press note.
Read also | Delhi, Maharashtra and 17 other states/UTs in SIR Phase 3: EC announces rollout
CEC on SIR in 16 states and 2 UTs
Speaking about the initiative, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said: “I appeal to all voters to enthusiastically participate in the third phase of Special Intensive Review (SIR) and fill their census forms.”
“The SIR is being conducted with the aim of ensuring that only eligible voters are included in the electoral roll and that no ineligible names are included,” he added.
During the third phase of SIR, over 3.94 lakh booth-level officials will go door-to-door to 36.73 crore voters.
SIR has already been conducted in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
A ‘special review’ was conducted in Assam.
