Kolkata: Hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began across West Bengal on Saturday, with voters queuing up at 3,234 centres set up across the state, a senior official said.
In the first phase of the exercise, around 32 lakh “unmapped” voters—those unable to establish linkage with the 2002 electoral roll—have been called for hearings. The process began at 11 am, with the Election Commission deploying around 4,500 micro-observers to oversee the proceedings.
An Election Commission official said voters appearing for the hearings can submit any of 12 recognised documents, including Aadhaar, as proof of identity and address. However, Aadhaar will not be accepted as a standalone document for verification purposes.
Special provisions have been made for elderly voters, with those aged 85 years or above exempted from visiting the hearing centres. In such cases, Election Commission officials will complete the verification process at their residences.
“The hearing process is being conducted under the supervision of over 4,500 micro-observers. Only authorised officials such as Electoral Registration Officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, Booth Level Officers and observers are permitted at the centres. People are lining up in large numbers at every camp,” an official from the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer said.
Officials also clarified that no changes have been allowed once the hearing centres were finalised, as the measures are aimed at ensuring transparency and accuracy in the revision exercise.
The Election Commission had published West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls on December 16 following the SIR process, during which more than 58 lakh names were deleted on various grounds, including death, migration and non-submission of enumeration forms.
