Is Bengal SIR Making Progress with Digitisation?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- 26% of digitisation completed
- 1.95 crore forms digitised
- Daily targets set for BLOs
- Showcause notices issued for slow progress
- FIRs filed against interfering BLAs
Kolkata, Nov 21 (NationPress) The digitisation of enumeration forms in the current Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in West Bengal is progressing well, with nearly 26 percent of the task completed as of now.
As per the most recent data from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, by 6 p.m. on Thursday, 1.95 crore enumeration forms have been digitised, representing 25.5 percent of the total 7,64,11,983 forms allocated to voters throughout the state.
The total count of electors in West Bengal, based on the electoral roll dated October 27, stands at 7,66,37,529, indicating that 2,25,546 enumeration forms are still pending distribution.
An insider from the CEO's office revealed that the digitisation process has accelerated after the ECI established a daily target for booth-level officers across the state.
According to this target, each Booth Level Officer (BLO) is required to upload 150 enumeration forms collected from voters using a dedicated app supplied by the ECI. This daily goal was set in light of the commission's previous aim to finalize the digitisation process by the end of November.
The insider also mentioned that the commission is taking the digitisation effort very seriously and has issued showcause notices to seven BLOs in Kolkata on Thursday due to their sluggish pace.
Earlier this month, the ECI had already issued showcause notices to eight BLOs for reportedly using shortcut methods to distribute enumeration forms instead of adhering to the ECI's guideline of conducting door-to-door visits.
Moreover, the CEO's office has filed FIRs against eight Booth Level Agents (BLAs), all linked to the ruling Trinamool Congress, due to allegations of meddling in the distribution of enumeration forms and taking possession of them from BLOs for their own distribution.