SIR: Kerala to set up help desks to aid untraceable voters
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a move to account for the list of untraceable voters that has surfaced as part of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the state government will set up help desks across village offices to ensure the inclusion of all eligible persons. In a government order issued by the general administration department on Friday, district collectors have been instructed to deploy two officers each to these help desks to ensure that eligible voters are not left out of the process. Over 24,08,503 distributed enumeration forms were not returned, of which 14.61 lakh were marked as either absent, untraceable, permanently shifted or enumeration form shifted, while 6.49 lakh were declared deceased. Another 1.36 lakh were listed under others. In addition, the order also mentions about 19.32 lakh people who have been included in the draft roll need to furnish more documents for final approval. Combined, over 43.4 lakh people in the state may have to furnish documents for hearing and further processing. The help desks are meant to ease this process. SIR: Order suggests campaigns to spread awareness The order, which mentions that nearby buildings may be used to facilitate help desks if the current provisions are insufficient, also states that officers from other departments may be reassigned to ensure the smooth functioning of the process. Special emphasis has been accorded to hamlets, hilly areas, and coastal belts, as the order mentions the reallocation of anganwadi, ASHA, and Kudumbashree workers to these areas. The order also suggests campaigns to spread awareness about the inclusion of people above the age of 18. The order, which states that the SIR process was carried out in Kerala amidst the local body polls, also mentions that the state had approached the Supreme Court to extend the SIR deadline. Despite the request to extend the deadline by two weeks, the Election Commission of India refused to do so.
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