Bhubaneswar, March 10 Ahead of launching the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Odisha on April 1, the Election Commission of India organized a four-day state-level training program for election officials on Tuesday.
The SIR is a comprehensive voter list revision designed to update and cleanse electoral rolls by verifying voter details, removing duplicates or ineligible entries, and ensuring accuracy ahead of future elections.
Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) RS Gopalan inaugurated the program at the Revenue Officers Training Institute in Gothapatna, Bhubaneswar.
The training, scheduled from March 10 to 13, is being held in two sessions each day, imparting knowledge and skills to officers on how to implement the SIR exercise efficiently and transparently. The last special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state was conducted two decades ago.
According to an official statement, participants of the first day of training included Election Registration Officers (EROs), Additional EROs, and Deputy Collectors (Election) from districts such as Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, and Balasore.
The participants were provided with detailed information on the key aspects of the SIR process, including voter list revision procedures, mapping of electors with the old (2002) voter list, data collection, field-level implementation, and institutional preparedness.
Senior officials were also briefed on the procedure for appointing Booth Level Agents (BLAs) by political parties, training for BLAs on voter verification and form handling, identification of 20 key persons per polling booth, and completion of mapping with the 2002 voter list.
In addition, during the training, officials will be made aware of the digitization of enumeration forms, identifying suitable locations with the required facilities for scanning, data entry, and verification.
The trained personnel will conduct hearing camps for claims and objections at various locations to facilitate easy access and timely resolution of grievances, with prior intimation to voters and stakeholders on dates, times, and venues.
Officials were also informed that IT cells will be established at Electoral Registration Officer (ERO/AERO) levels, and help desks will be set up at District Election Officer (DEO/AERO) offices for assistance to voters, BLOs, and field staff during the revision period.
However, the mapping process has already begun in the state.
CEO Gopalan said that around 90 per cent of the voters in the state have been mapped with the 2002 electoral roll. This mapping process is expected to be completed within the next 10 days, and the target is to achieve at least 95 per cent mapping.