Exclusive: 4 districts account for 85% of SIR deletion requests in Uttarakhand

Exclusive: 4 districts account for 85% of SIR deletion requests in Uttarakhand Deadline for disposal of claims and objections under SIR extended by 17 days.

Key points

• The draft had additionally flagged 19.04 lakh voter records for discrepancies, with Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar accounting for the highest numbers.
• Together, these four districts, out of 13 in the state, account for more than 85% of all Form-7 applications received during the claims-and-objections period.
• Udham Singh Nagar alone accounts for almost 34% of all Form-7 applications filed in the state.
• In July, Uttarakhand's draft roll included 69, 231 electors in an "others" category.
• Earlier, during the door-to-door enumeration phase, the Election Commission had additionally identified 8.32 lakh electors under the ASD category – absent, shifted or dead.

Meanwhile, the claims and objection disposal period. It commenced on July 14, was supposed to conclude on September 9. The date has now been extended to September 28. (File Photo).

In practice, the Election Commission has extended the deadline for disposal of claims and objections under Uttarakhand's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by 17 days, with the final voter list now scheduled to be published on October 3 instead of September 15.

Official data accessed by The Indian Express show that more than 1.3 lakh Form-7 applications seeking deletion of names were filed during the claims-and-objections disposal period – the window during which individuals can ask the Election Commission to add, delete, or correct names in the draft voter list before it becomes final.

Udham Singh Nagar accounts for 43, 878 of the state's 1, 30, 382 Form-7 applications, followed by Haridwar with 29, 369, Dehradun with 19, 402, and Nainital with 18, 301, according to data accessed by The Indian Express.

Notably, the concentration of deletion requests comes against the backdrop of a large-scale revision that had already flagged millions of voter records in the state.

When the draft electoral roll was published on July 14, The Indian Express documented that 71.33 lakh electors had produced it to the draft roll – almost 8.25 lakh fewer than the 79.58 lakh electors in the final roll for the 2022 Assembly elections. The draft had additionally flagged 19.04 lakh voter records for discrepancies, with Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar accounting for the highest numbers.

In practice, the CEO's office had ordered fresh booth-level verification in such cases, with Purushottam telling The Indian Express that authorities had been instructed to re-examine such cases to ensure that eligible voters were not deleted.

Meanwhile, the scale of the exercise has now translated into a substantial claims-and-objections workload. Of the 1, 30, 382 Form-7 applications received throughout the state between July 14 and August 13, only 44, 132 have been disposed of, leaving 86, 250 under process, according to the data by the CEO's office as of Monday.

Meanwhile, the backlog is particularly pronounced in the districts that account for the bulk of the deletion requests. In Udham Singh Nagar, 34, 903 Form-7 applications remain under process, compared with 17, 554 in Haridwar, 11, 498 in Nainital and 11, 262 in Dehradun.

Udham Singh Nagar alone accounts for almost 34% of all Form-7 applications filed in the state. Of its 43, 878 applications, only 8, 975 had been disposed of as of September 7. In Haridwar, 11, 815 of 29, 369 applications had been disposed of. In Nainital, the figure stands at 6, 803 of 18, 301 while in Dehradun, it is 8, 140 of 19, 402.

In practice, a Form-7 objection does not automatically result in deletion. An Electoral Registration Officer has to conduct an inquiry, offer the elector an opportunity to respond and then pass an order. Booth Level Officers are additionally required to conduct field verification.

In July, Uttarakhand's draft roll included 69, 231 electors in an "others" category. It the state CEO explained as individuals who had refused to submit or sign their enumeration forms. The Commission's position was that genuine electors left out of the draft could seek inclusion during the claims-and-objections period.

Meanwhile, the CEO's office remarked Monday that hearings had been held in 24, 29, 524 of the 24, 30, 387 notices generated during the SIR – 99.96% cases – as of September 7. The notices were generated against a total electorate of 71, 33, 785.

While the state notes hearings have been completed in virtually all notices generated during the revision, 86, 250 Form-7 applications seeking deletion of names from the electoral rolls, 1, 14, 579 Form-6 applications seeking inclusion of names, and 38, 241 Form-8 applications seeking corrections or changes to existing voter records remain under process, according to the claims-and-objections data.

For now, exclusive: 4 districts account for 85% of SIR deletion requests in Uttarakhand remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.