Bengal SIR: EC appoints 12 senior Central officers as special roll observers

Kolkata: The Election Commission appointed 12 senior central officers as Special Roll Observers (SROs) to oversee the SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

The observers will ensure that the exercise is conducted strictly in accordance with the EC’s directions, an official reportedly said.

Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary Gaya Prasad has been appointed the SRO of Murshidabad district, while Devesh Deval, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, has been assigned West Midnapore.

Nishtha Upadhyay, Additional CEO of the Government e-Marketplace, will initially be stationed at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata, with districts to be allotted later. Venkatesapathy S, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, has been appointed SRO for Birbhum, and V Kiran Gopal, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, for North Dinajpur.

Ministry of Power Joint Secretary, Shashank Misra has been assigned the West Burdwan district. Ravi Shankar, Joint Secretary in the Department of Food and Public Distribution, and Prasana R, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, have been appointed as SROs for the North 24-Parganas district.

National Medical Commission Secretary Raghav Langer has been assigned to the Dakshin Dinajpur district. P Bala Kiran, Joint Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training, has been assigned to Nadia district.

MyGov CEO Nand Kumarum was named SRO for Hooghly, and Harsh Mangla, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, was assigned Purba Medinipur district.

EC had earlier appointed observers at various levels to oversee the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. These observers will monitor field-level implementation of the exercise to ensure accuracy, transparency and compliance with EC’s directions.