Thane, April 11 Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Chockalingam has said that mapping all voters is essential to ensure transparency and accuracy in the election process, and admitted that the state was somewhat lagging behind in this area.
He was addressing a 'Special In-depth Review' meeting held here on Friday.
"To ensure transparency and accuracy in the voting process, mapping all voter lists is essential. The administrative system should work with dedication to achieve a target of 90 to 94 per cent," he said, according to a release issued by the Thane district administration on Saturday.
He said that Maharashtra was lagging behind other states in voter list mapping, with districts like Thane and Palghar requiring faster progress.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls is set to begin across Maharashtra this month for updating electoral data for error-free rolls.
The CEO stressed the need for a combination of technology and fieldwork, directing booth-level officers (BLOs) and electoral staff to undertake door-to-door verification and maintain geo-tagged photographic records to ensure transparency.
"Mapping voters with earlier electoral rolls and verifying their original residence is the cornerstone of this campaign," he said, adding that notices should be pasted outside the houses of unavailable voters and documented.
Highlighting issues, such as duplicate entries and unclear photographs, Chockalingam said that officials must take corrective action to eliminate discrepancies.
"There should be no doubt that the Election Commission is using its powers only to register eligible Indian citizens," he asserted.