Kolkata: The ECI has approved the use of tea garden and cinchona plantation employment records as valid proof of identity and residence for the SIR of electoral rolls in seven districts of North Bengal.
In an official letter to the state Chief Electoral Officer, the apex poll body said it had “no objection” to the state election authority’s proposal to accept such records in the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, North Dinajpur and
South Dinajpur. “I am directed to refer to your letter No. 5163-Home (Elec)/R3E-73/2025 dated 31.12.2025 and to state that the Commission has no objection to the proposal for the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur,” the order stated.
Tea garden workers—predominantly from tribal and Gorkha communities—constitute a significant voter base in North Bengal and have long faced difficulties in furnishing conventional identity and residence documents.
The decision was welcomed by the BJP. Suvendu Adhikari said the move would help address long-standing documentation hurdles faced by plantation and forest-dwelling communities.