70% pre-SIR mapping in 2 mths, Mumbai Suburban lowest at 47%

Mumbai: Even as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is set to begin in Maharashtra, the state has achieved only 70% progress in the last two months on mapping voters from the 2002 voter list to the latest voter list in the state. This was a crucial pre-SIR activity which will cut down time for both voters and election staff during the SIR programme.

Urban areas remain the main laggards with Mumbai Suburban district achieving the lowest mapping at 46.9% followed by Pune with 47.4%. Thane is not much better (51.3%) and nor is Mumbai City (57%).

Election officials say the sheer population in urban constituencies and the internal mobility makes mapping more difficult.

“There is a larger floating population in urban areas as well as internal mobility which means polling booths tend to change which makes mapping more difficult. Also, there is less knowledge among neighbours about where the voter has shifted,” said chief electoral officer (Maharashtra) S Chockalingam.

Indeed, he has proposed that in urban centres, the municipality should be involved in helping with the mapping process in order to improve accountability. He has suggested that an additional municipal commissioner be designated the district election officer.

Another factor which is impacting mapping work is the shortage of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) appointed by the government for mapping work. Although the gaps are being filled, the shortage is particularly glaring in cities including Mumbai.

On the other hand, semi-urban and rural areas are doing much better on pre-SIR mapping. This is because of lower mobility which results in polling booths used in 2002 and the latest voter list being similar.

The highest mapping in the state is seen in Hingoli (90.1%) and Gadchiroli (90.4%). High mapping has also been achieved in Sindhudurg (89.3%), Ratnagiri (87.8%), Gondia (86.3%) and Buldhana (86.2%).

By contrast, other cities have also reported mapping rates which are on the lower side. These include Nagpur (62.6%), Palghar (63.9%) and Nasik (68.9%). Of the states, 9.8 crore voters, around 6.9 crore have been mapped so far.