NewKerala.com

Bengal Voter ID Row: EC Rejects Housing Finance Letters as Identity Proof

The Election Commission of India has clarified that sanction letters from central and state housing finance schemes are not acceptable as valid identity documents for West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls. This decision affects schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), and the state's Banglar Bari. The confusion stemmed from the EC's existing list of valid documents, which includes "any land/house allotment certificate by the Government," but officials explain finance letters do not identify a specific property. Despite the clarification, some electoral registration officers have reportedly accepted these letters, prompting the EC to potentially seek explanations.

Key Points: EC: Bengal Housing Finance Letters Not Valid Voter ID

  • EC clarifies housing finance letters not valid ID
  • Affects PMAY, Indira Awas Yojana, Banglar Bari
  • Differs from land allotment certificates
  • Confusion arose from existing voter ID list
  • Some officials wrongly accepted the letters
3 min read

Bengal SIR: Housing finance certificates not to be accepted as valid identity documents, says EC

Election Commission clarifies housing scheme sanction letters like PMAY are not valid identity documents for Bengal's voter list revision.

"financial assistance sanction letters cannot be treated at par with any land or house allotment certificate - CEO's office insider"

Kolkata, Feb 16

The Election Commission of India, on Monday, clarified that the financial assistance sanctions letters under different Central and state housing finance schemes of the West Bengal government will not be deemed as valid identity documents in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision conducted in the state.

The ECI's headquarters in New Delhi had also sent a communication to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)'s Office in the matter.

The schemes whose financial assistance sanction letters would not be deemed as valid identity documents include Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), and the West Bengal government's own housing financial assistance scheme of Banglar Bari.

The decision of ECI in the matter had led to some confusion since of the 13 identity documents specified by the Commission, which would be deemed as an authentic identity document, one is "any land/house allotment certificate by the Government".

However, insiders from the CEO's office had clarified the doubts and explained the difference between "any land/house allotment certificate by the Government" and the "financial assistance sanction letters under any state or Central housing finance scheme".

According to the CEO office's insiders, while "any land/house allotment certificate by the Government" identifies a specific plot of land or a particular house as being allotted to the voter concerned, the "financial assistance sanction letters under any state or central housing finance scheme" do not specify that.

"The second one is just a housing finance assistance scheme where the voter concerned receives the money for purchasing a house and bears the expenditure for constructing that house from the money received. The financial assistance sanction letters under PMAY/IAY/Banglar Bari do not identify the specific plot of land or any specific house being owned by the voters concerned. So, financial assistance sanction letters cannot be treated at par with any land or house allotment certificate," a CEO's office insider said.

He also added that the ECI had clarified the difference in statutes between "any land/house allotment certificate by Government" and the "financial assistance sanction letters under any state or central housing finance scheme" at the very beginning of the phase of the hearing session over claims and objections regarding the draft voters list.

"Still, a section of the electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) have accepted these financial assistance sanctions letters as valid identity documents during the SIR hearing sessions. If the Commission desires, it can seek explanations from the EROs and AEROs concerned in the matter," the CEO's office insider said.

- IANS

Share this article:

Reader Comments

P
Priyanka N
This will cause a lot of confusion for beneficiaries, especially in rural areas. Many people use these letters as their primary govt document. EC should have run a wider awareness campaign before the revision. 🤔
S
Suresh O
The article says some EROs were still accepting these letters. This inconsistency is the real problem. Uniform application of rules is crucial for a fair process. Hope the EC takes necessary action.
A
Ananya R
It's a technical but important difference. An allotment certificate gives you a specific address. A finance letter doesn't. How can you verify someone's constituency from a letter that just says they got money? EC is right on this.
M
Michael C
Reading this from outside India. The level of detail in your electoral process is impressive. Clarifying the exact type of document needed to prevent fraud is a sign of a robust system.
K
Kavya N
I respectfully disagree with the EC on this one. For many poor families, the PMAY or Banglar Bari sanction letter is their most prized official paper. It has their name, photo, and scheme details. Rejecting it feels like excluding the very people we should be helping to enrol. The spirit of the law should matter too.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Minimum 50 characters 0/50