ECI announces Rs 6,000 one-time honorarium for BLOs and supervisors engaged in SIR
New Delhi, July 14
As Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls continues in several states, the Election Commission of India on Tuesday sanctioned a special honorarium of Rs 6,000 to Booth Level Officers and BLO Supervisors engaged in the process.
"I am directed to convey that considering the volume and nature of the work involved in Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Commission has approved the grant of a one-time honorarium of ₹6,000/- to each BLO and BLO Supervisor engaged in the exercise, in addition to their annual remuneration," the letter from ECI said.
It further added, "The instruction shall be brought to the notice of all concerned for compliance."
The letter was addressed to the Chief Electoral Officers of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, NCT of Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura and Uttarakhand.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) in May had announced the conduct of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Phase-III of electoral rolls across 16 States and three Union Territories, covering over 36 crore electors in a phased manner.
According to the press note issued by the Commission, the exercise has been planned in coordination with the ongoing house listing component of the Census to ensure optimal use of field machinery.
"After considering the completion of Phase-II of the Census in these three State/UTs and due consideration of the weather in the upper reaches/ snow bound areas, the SIR schedule for these three State/UTs will be announced later," it added.
The poll body said that over 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will carry out house-to-house verification work, supported by 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties during the enumeration phase.
The ECI emphasised that the exercise is participatory and involves all stakeholders, including electors, political parties and election officials.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Finally some recognition for the unsung heroes of our elections! My father was a BLO for 15 years and he used to say people don't even know they exist. This honorarium is a small but meaningful acknowledgement of their tireless work. Hope it encourages more people to take up this role. ❤️
I work as a volunteer in voter awareness drives and I've seen how BLOs work in remote villages of Karnataka. They often travel 10-15 km on foot just to verify a few names. ₹6,000 is not huge but it's a start. The real issue is timely payment - I hope the funds reach them without corruption.
Good step but why only 21 states/UTs? What about the rest of India? Every BLO works hard regardless of where they are. Also, with elections coming in 2024, this seems like a political move to keep the machinery motivated. But still, credit where it's due - ECI is one of the few institutions that still functions well in India.
As someone who worked as a BLO in Delhi during the last revision, I can say this is long overdue. We had to work on weekends, evenings, and sometimes face angry residents who didn't want to be disturbed. ₹6,000 may not be life-changing, but it shows the ECI values our effort. Hopefully this sets a precedent for future exercises. 🫡
The SIR exercise is crucial for clean electoral rolls. I've seen many complaints about duplicate entries and missing names during previous elections. BLOs
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