Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) schedule in Telangana. The final electoral roll will now be published on November 30 instead of November 9. The notice phase, which includes the disposal of claims and objections, has been extended from November 5 to November 26. The change followed a letter from Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharsan Reddy on October 29 seeking more time.
Andhra Pradesh will also publish its final rolls on November 30, with its notice and claims phase extended to November 20. The commission has also revised SIR timelines in Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana and Nagaland. Each change was made at the request of that state’s chief electoral officer. Telangana’s schedule has shifted several times. In July, the commission fixed October 12 as the final roll date. In September, after another request from the CEO, it moved the date to November 9.
The size of the exercise lies behind the delays. Telangana had about 3.38 crore registered electors before the revision began. Only about 2.64 crore returned their enumeration forms. The remaining 73.39 lakh names were classified as Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate (ASDD) and left out of the draft rolls. Booth Level Officers carried out house-to-house verification during the enumeration phase, which ended on August 3 under the revised July schedule.
Officials generated 92.88 lakh notices for electors whose records showed discrepancies or could not be matched with the 2002 electoral roll, the base document for the revision. By October 29, 92.81 lakh notices had been delivered, with only 6,999 yet to reach electors. Hearings had been completed for 92.08 lakh notices. As of that date, 2.59 crore electors had been cleared for inclusion in the final list.
- 59.31 lakh voters had their logical discrepancies resolved.
- 30.64 lakh electors could not be mapped to the 2002 roll but were found eligible.
- 50,690 electors were found ineligible and will not appear on the final roll.
Progress was slow at first. At the end of September, more than 30 lakh electors who had received notices were yet to appear before officials. At that stage, 48,88,076 electors had been declared eligible and 12,99,368 cases were under verification by District Electoral Officers. By mid-October, more than 90 per cent of electors served notices had been marked for inclusion, and over 5.25 lakh were cleared without a hearing. More than 4.95 lakh Form 6 applications had been filed by October 7.
Voters have until November 26 to act. Electors who received a notice and have not attended a hearing should contact their Electoral Registration Officer. Those dropped under ASDD can file Form 6 with supporting documents. Officials have said that electors removed during the SIR may face strict verification if they seek re-enrolment later. Electors can check their status through their Booth Level Officer or the voter helpline 1950. The revised roll will also decide who votes in the long-delayed civic polls for the Greater Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri municipal corporations, which are expected only after the SIR ends.
