Meghalaya SIR: East Khasi Hills administration urges voters not to fear exercise
Shillong, June 29
The district administration in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills on Monday announced that a month-long house-to-house verification drive under the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll will commence from June 30, with Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Barnwal urging citizens to participate in the exercise without fear.
Addressing the media here, Barnwal said Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit all 1,021 polling stations across the district to distribute pre-filled self-enumeration forms to voters whose names figure in the 2025 electoral roll.
The final revised electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 7.
The Deputy Commissioner clarified that voters will not be required to submit any supporting documents during the initial enumeration process.
"Electors are only required to submit their duly filled self-enumeration forms. That is all that is needed at the enumeration stage. We expect an overwhelming majority of electors will be covered through the forms alone," Barnwal said.
He said that only a limited number of cases may require additional clarification, following which voters would be given adequate time to furnish supporting documents, if necessary.
Seeking to allay public concerns over the exercise, the Deputy Commissioner said BLOs have been instructed to accept all forms of supporting documents and not restrict themselves to the Election Commission's indicative list of 11 documents.
"Whether it is a church certificate or a headman's certificate, every document will be accepted. The Electoral Registration Officer will take a decision after considering the overall merits of each case," he said.
Barnwal stressed that the revision exercise is aimed at ensuring a fair, transparent and inclusive electoral roll rather than excluding eligible voters. Appealing for public cooperation, he urged citizens not to be intimidated by the process.
"Please don't fear. The administration is ready to walk hand-in-hand with you. We would be absolutely okay if you ask us the same question a hundred times, but we would not want to miss any eligible elector," he said.
The Deputy Commissioner reiterated that the objective of the Special Intensive Revision is "to include and not to exclude" while preparing a clean, accurate and error-free electoral roll. He added that voters can also seek assistance through the Election Commission's designated helplines and online platforms during the revision process.
— IANS
Reader Comments
It's encouraging to see the district administration taking such a proactive, inclusive approach. "To include and not to exclude" is exactly the right message, and the willingness to accept diverse documents shows sensitivity to local contexts. The transparency about the October 7 deadline also helps build trust. Nice work, Mr. Barnwal!
While the intention seems good, I'm still a bit skeptical. Similar drive in my district last year led to many genuine voters being dropped due to 'lack of proper documents'. Hope the ECI has better oversight this time. Still, encouraging that they're saying people can ask same question 100 times without fear. That's a good start at least.
Reading this from the UK - it's fascinating how electoral rolls are maintained in different parts of India. The idea of house-to-house verification with pre-filled forms is actually quite efficient. And accepting church certificates as supporting documents shows remarkable adaptability to local contexts. Hope the drive goes smoothly!
As someone from Shillong, I appreciate the assurance about no documents needed initially. Many elderly people in our community are scared of these drives because of language barriers and fear of losing their voting rights. If BLOs actually speak in Khasi and explain things properly, this could work well. Fingers crossed! 🙏
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.