SIR hearings begin in West Bengal for 32 lakh unmapped voters at 3,234 centres.
Voters must submit 12 recognised documents; Aadhaar not standalone; seniors exempted.
Over 4,500 micro-observers deployed to ensure transparency and accuracy.
Hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began across West Bengal on Saturday, with people queuing at 3,234 centres statewide, a senior official said. According to PTI, the exercise marks the first phase of scrutiny for voters whose names could not be linked to earlier records.
As PTI reported, around 32 lakh “unmapped” voters — those unable to establish linkage with the 2002 electoral roll — are being called for hearings in this phase. The process commenced at 11 am, with 4,500 micro-observers deployed to oversee the hearings, the official said.
Voters appearing before the camps may submit any one of 12 recognised documents as proof of identity and address, including Aadhaar, an Election Commission official said. However, Aadhaar will not be accepted as a standalone document, he added.
According to PTI, voters aged 85 years and above have been exempted from appearing in person, with Election Commission officials conducting the verification process at their residences.
“The hearing process is being conducted under the supervision of over 4,500 micro-observers, with only authorised officials such as EROs, AROs, BLOs and observers permitted at the centres. People are lining up in large numbers before every camp,” the official at the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said.
No changes have been allowed after the hearing centres were finalised, as the measures are intended to ensure transparency and accuracy in the revision process.
The Election Commission had, on December 16, published West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following the SIR exercise, deleting the names of more than 58 lakh voters on grounds such as death, migration and non-submission of enumeration forms, PTI reported.
