Kolkata, February 16 – The Election Commission of India (ECI) clarified on Monday that financial assistance sanction letters issued under various central and state housing finance schemes of the West Bengal government would not be considered valid identity documents during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) conducted in the state.
The ECI headquarters in New Delhi had also sent a communication to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)'s Office regarding this matter.
The schemes for which financial assistance sanction letters would not be considered valid identity documents include Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), and the West Bengal government's own housing financial assistance scheme, Banglar Bari.
The ECI's decision on this matter had led to some confusion, as one of the 13 identity documents specified by the Commission that would be considered an authentic identity document is "any land/house allotment certificate by the Government".
However, insiders from the CEO's office had clarified these 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 insiders from the CEO's office, 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, the "financial assistance sanction letters under any state or central housing finance scheme" do not specify this.
"The second one is simply a housing finance assistance scheme where the voter receives the money for purchasing a house and bears the cost of 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 owned by the voters. Therefore, financial assistance sanction letters cannot be considered equivalent to any land or house allotment certificate," a CEO's office insider said.
He also added that the ECI had clarified the difference in the statutes between "any land/house allotment certificate by the Government" and the "financial assistance sanction letters under any state or central housing finance scheme" at the very beginning 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 sanction letters as valid identity documents during the SIR hearing sessions. If the Commission desires, it can seek explanations from the concerned EROs and AEROs," the CEO's office insider said.
