Punjab eases promotion norms for election staff amid SIR

Chandigarh: The Punjab cabinet on Monday approved amendments to the service rules of the election department to fill key vacancies and strengthen the state's election machinery amid preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.An official said the cabinet reduced the experience required for promotion from election kanungo to election tehsildar from 15 years to 12 years, paving the way for the filling of seven vacant posts.The move also comes ahead of the 2027 assembly polls, for which the services of election tehsildars are considered crucial.Under the existing rules, none of the serving Election Kanungoes were eligible for promotion. The amendment will enable eligible officials to be promoted and help address manpower shortages in the department, the spokesperson said.Following a preliminary data-mapping exercise that covered over 83% of Punjab's 2.14 crore electors, the field phase of SIR is scheduled to be conducted from June 25 to July 24.The cabinet also approved the annual administrative report of the department of water resources for 2025-26, facilitating documentation and review of the department's performance and achievements during the financial year.