Bengal govt offers 8505 Group-B officers for SIR

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has informed the Election Commission of India (ECI) that it can deploy 8,505 Group-B officers for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Nabanna sources said the information was conveyed to the apex poll body through a letter.

The development assumes significance as the SIR-related case is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday, when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may again appear in person.

During the hearing last Wednesday, Banerjee appeared before the court after counsel for the Election Commission submitted that the state

had failed to provide an adequate number of Group-B officers for SIR, forcing the Commission to appoint officers from outside West Bengal. The court then directed the state to submit a list of Group-B officers it would depute by Monday.

Banerjee alleged that voters were being summoned for SIR hearings over minor spelling errors or surname changes, causing harassment. The

court directed that no voter’s name be deleted for minor spelling mistakes and asked Nabanna to provide a list of Bengali-speaking officers, observing that this would help address language-related issues.

The Commission told the court that the state had so far appointed only 80 “Grade-B” officers for SIR, calling it grossly inadequate, while deploying lower-level staff such as anganwadi workers. Banerjee, however, maintained that the state had fully cooperated with the SIR, underway since November 26.

Meanwhile, the ECI has tightened norms on voter slip distribution. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been instructed to mandatorily distribute voter slips door-to-door, bearing the Commission’s logo and details including the voter’s name, age, address, EPIC number, part number, booth number and polling station.

A 2018 directive assigning BLOs this task was often ignored, with political party workers distributing slips during elections.

To ensure transparency, the Commission has decided to strictly enforce the rule. Voters who do not receive slips

at home may complain by calling 1950, following which strict action will be taken against the concerned BLO within 24 hours.