Prayagraj: The district administration has begun issuing notices under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, setting up as many as 225 courts across Prayagraj to handle hearings smoothly amid the large volume of cases.Booth level officers (BLOs) started visiting households to deliver notices to voters whose details require verification.
Following directions from district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma, separate locations were identified in each assembly constituency of Prayagraj to facilitate the process. In Allahabad West assembly constituency, courts were set up at 17 locations, while 13 were identified in Allahabad North and 20 in Allahabad South assembly constituency. Officials said so far 2,26,633 notices were issued in Prayagraj district. However, only 941 voters have submitted their replies so far. Hearings will continue for several days at the designated courts. Election officials expect the number of responses to rise gradually as more voters receive notices and approach the authorities with the required documents. As part of the SIR drive, the administration outlined the documents required for new voter registration in Prayagraj. Applicants may submit a birth certificate, Aadhaar card, PAN card, driving licence, or high school or intermediate certificates. If none of these documents are available, applicants aged 18 to 21 years can submit an affidavit signed by their parents or, in the case of transgender applicants, by a guru, before the BLO or Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). If parents are deceased, a birth certificate issued by the village head or councilor will be considered valid. Applicants above 21 years of age may submit a declaration before the designated BLO, ERO, or returning officer, along with documents such as gas connection papers, electricity or water bills, and an Aadhaar card. During the ongoing SIR campaign in Prayagraj, more than 11 lakh voters’ names were deleted from the electoral rolls, most of them belonging to the ASD category. At the same time, notices are yet to be issued to 10.62 lakh voters. Officials said that 2.87 lakh voters could not be mapped earlier. Subsequently, around 7.5 lakh voters with partial discrepancies in their names or addresses were also categorised under no-mapping and will be issued notices. Responding to the notices is mandatory, and failure to submit documents will lead to deletion of names. Election officials admitted that more deletions are likely. Voters were urged to ensure submission of documents so that their names remain in the final electoral roll to be published on Mar 6. Deputy district election officer Pooja Mishra appealed to Prayagraj voters who received notices to submit their replies and documents at the earliest. She also asked applicants who filled Form-6 for new voter registration to submit the required documents to ensure inclusion in the final list. She added elderly voters, persons with disabilities, or those temporarily out of the city may be represented by family members. Voters can also verify their details online. Those issued notices must submit any 1 valid identity document issued by govt or public sector bodies, including pension payment orders, birth certificates, passports, certificates issued by recognised boards or universities, permanent residence certificates, caste certificates, NRC records, family registers, or govt-issued land or house allotment documents.
