Hyderabad lags in mapping exercise, says CEO

Hyderabad: Political parties on Friday flagged several concerns over the ongoing pre–Special Intensive Revision (SIR) mapping exercise in Telangana, particularly in Hyderabad, during a meeting with chief electoral officer C Sudharshan Reddy.At the meeting held at the CEO's office, representatives of recognised national and state political parties said identifying voters in many parts of Hyderabad had become difficult as house numbers in the 2002 electoral rolls — being used as the base for the SIR exercise — did not match current addresses due to changes over the years. They also raised concerns over inadequate training of booth-level officers (BLOs), saying it was causing difficulties in voter verification and the search process on the ground, especially in the city. The CEO noted that Hyderabad was lagging in the mapping exercise, with the city recording only 31% progress compared to the overall state average of about 60%. He urged political parties to extend cooperation to speed up the mapping process in the city. The issues were discussed as the Election Commission of India stepped up preparatory work for the upcoming SIR of electoral rolls in Telangana. A presentation on the SIR exercise was made during the meeting and doubts raised by party representatives were clarified. Party representatives also sought identity cards for booth-level assistants and sought clarity on whether Aadhaar was mandatory for the exercise. Responding to the concerns, Sudharshan Reddy said booth-level assistants should be appointed by political parties themselves and their identity cards would also have to be issued by the parties. He clarified that Aadhaar was only one of the accepted identity documents and was not compulsory for the exercise.