West Bengal: ECI slams officials for failing to act on proposal to set up polling booths in housing complexes
KOLKATA: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has pulled up the district magistrates (DMs), who are traditionally engaged in the election process as district electoral officers (DEOs), for not acting on the ECI proposals for setting up of polling stations inside private housing complexes with multiple high-rise buildings across West Bengal. The ECI, on December 10, sent a letter to the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal, directing him to take immediate steps in this regard. The national poll body, as per its guidelines, had directed the DEOs to conduct extensive house-to-house (H2H) survey for setting up of polling stations in 'high-rise/group housing societies/RWA (Resident Welfare Association) colonies that have common facilitation area/community hall at the ground floor within the premises and in slum dwelling clusters of urban areas'. The Commission had also directed the DEOs to finalise the proposal for new polling stations after taking its prior approval. According to the Commission's directive, they were asked to complete the final proposal much before the draft publication of the electoral rolls so that the electoral registration officers (EROs) can update the control table in ECINet and create parts to prepare draft electoral roll. In a strongly worded communication to the office of the CEO, West Bengal, the Commission has warned that it will take strong action against the DMs as well as DEOs for their failure to send proposals for setting up of pooling booths. The Commission has taken a very serious view of the failure on the part of DEOs in performance of their statutory duty as given under Section 25 of the RP Act, 1951, read with Section 160 of the said Act. The DEO are also liable under the said provisions for any lack of sufficiency of polling stations for electors in the above-specified residential colonies, ECI cautioned Agarwal in its letter. ECI appoints five more special roll observers in West Bengal According to Section 25 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, the DEOs, with prior approval of the ECI, shall provide a sufficient number of polling stations for every constituency. The national poll panel has also stated, during the period after draft publication of Electoral Roll on 16.12.2025, all DEOs shall immediately conduct survey of high-rise buildings, group housing societies, RWA colonies, slums and gated societies having at least 250 houses or 500 voters, with details of available rooms at ground floor level and identify suitable accommodations for polling stations within their premises. The DEOs have also been asked to send assessment reports on the matter to the ECI office through the office of the state CEO latest by December 31. The West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, and the Trinamool Congress has been opposing the ECIs idea of setting up new polling booths within private housing complexes. The Chief Minister, last month, wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, objecting to the ECIs proposal for setting up polling stations inside private housing complexes for the Assembly polls scheduled next year. This proposal is deeply problematic. Polling stations have always been, and must remain, located in government or semi-government institutions, preferably within a 2 km radius, to ensure accessibility and neutrality. Private buildings are typically avoided for clear reasons: they compromise fairness, violate established norms, and create discriminatory distinctions between privileged residents and the general public the haves and have-nots, the Chief Ministers letter read.
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