Nearly 14 lakh SIR forms marked ‘uncollectable’ in West Bengal, says Election Commission
Kolkata: The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday announced that nearly 14 lakh SIR (Special Summary Revision) enumeration forms in West Bengal have been categorised as “uncollectable”, signalling a significant challenge in the ongoing voter list revision process across the state.
According to EC officials, 13.92 lakh forms have been identified as uncollectable as of Tuesday noon, a steep rise from 10.33 lakh recorded on Monday. These forms could not be retrieved because the voters were absentee, duplicate, deceased, or had permanently shifted from their registered addresses.
Officials expect the number to rise further as more ground-level updates continue to pour in from across districts.
The data collection is being carried out by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who are responsible for visiting every household and updating voter details. West Bengal has deployed more than 80,600 BLOs, supported by 8,000 supervisors, 3,000 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, and 294 Electoral Registration Officers for this extensive revision exercise.
The BLOs have been working intensively, distributing SIR forms, collecting filled-in details and verifying voter information. However, the strenuous field duty has also taken a toll. EC officials confirmed that three BLOs have died in the state during the ongoing SIR process, underscoring the demanding nature of door-to-door electoral work.
The large number of uncollectable forms raises concerns over the accuracy of the voter list and the challenges of ensuring comprehensive coverage in densely populated and highly migratory urban and rural pockets of West Bengal.
The EC is expected to carry out further scrutiny and verification to ensure the voter rolls are updated before final publication.
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