3.94 lakh SIR notices yet to reach voters in Nagpur district, nearly half of those issued

Nearly half the notices issued in Nagpur district under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls have yet to reach voters. Concern is being expressed over whether voters who need to complete the verification process will get enough time to do so.

According to the latest Notice and Hearing Report, 8.66 lakh notices have been generated in all. Of these, only 4.71 lakh have been served, or 54.45 per cent. The remaining 3.94 lakh notices, or 45.55 per cent, are still pending.

The Election Commission has extended to November 10 the deadline for disposing of claims and objections under the process.

Notice service figures vary widely by constituency. In Nagpur North, 66,623 notices are pending. In Nagpur West the number is 59,760, while in Hingna constituency 57,044 notices are pending. The combined number of unserved notices in these three constituencies is 1,83,427.

In Nagpur South West, 74,511 of the 89,352 notices generated have been served. In Nagpur South, however, only 28,372 of 76,464 notices are recorded as served.

The report records 47,209 hearings held so far. In 2,92,914 cases the hearing date has passed, and in another 4,943 cases the rescheduled hearing date has also passed. At the level of the District Election Officer, 65,054 cases are pending. Of these, 61,465 have been lying for more than five days.

The notices are for voters whose entries were recorded as unmapped or as having logical discrepancies during the SIR. Such voters may have to submit documents, attend a hearing and resolve the discrepancies so that their voter records are properly verified.

Under the revised schedule, the last date for filing applications and objections is October 26. The deadline for disposing of claims and objections and completing notice-related procedures is November 10. The final electoral roll will be published on November 16.

With nearly four lakh notices still to be served, the coming weeks will be important for election officials and the voters concerned. Serving notices on time and completing hearings will be crucial so that eligible voters get a chance to resolve discrepancies before the final list is published.