1.1L more voters may not make it to final roll

Kolkata: Documents submitted by 1.1 lakh voters during SIR hearings, which concluded on Feb 14, have not been uploaded on database, EC officials said on Tuesday.They said that if these names are not included in the final electoral roll to be published on Feb 28, they will have to appeal first to the DEO and then to CEO to have their names included.EC officers, however, did not respond to queries regarding why citizens should suffer due to the dilatory attitude of the officials.These one lakh-plus voters will now be added to the list of 2,43,940 ineligible voters identified as on Tuesday, and their names will not be included in the final roll."EC norms state that if documents are not uploaded after a hearing, the concerned person's name will not be included in the electoral roll. If the affected person files a complaint against the concerned ERO/AERO, the EC will take action against the officials after an inquiry," a senior official said."Electors whose names are missing from the final roll, even after attending hearings and submitting documents, can apply to the concerned DM/DEO within five days of publication of the final list. After receiving the applications, the DM/DEO will call them for a hearing. If the issue is not resolved in five days, the applicant can apply to the CEO," another official said.The hearing phase of Bengal's SIR process concluded on Feb 14. Following the set timeline, the ECI stopped allowing document uploads immediately after midnight. The process of verification and final disposal of cases is underway. As per records, documents of 1,14,772 voters are yet to be uploaded as on Tuesday. The numbers are high in some districts — 10,479 in Cooch Behar, 10,285 in South Dinajpur, 15,031 in North Kolkata, and 20,707 in North 24 Parganas. In Howrah, 10,499 documents are pending. In Darjeeling, Hooghly, and South 24 Parganas, over 5,000 documents each are awaiting upload. On the other hand, no uploads are pending in Malda, Jhargram, and Kalimpong.