EC extends SIR schedule in six states; Maharashtra's final electoral roll now due on November 30

The Election Commission of India has revised the schedule for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in six states. The Commission on Thursday announced the revised schedule for Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana and Nagaland. The chief electoral officers (CEOs) of the states and Union Territories concerned had sought an extension. The Commission then sent separate letters to all voters informing them of the new schedule.

Voters in Maharashtra and Delhi will now get more time to file claims and objections regarding inclusion of names in the roll, deletion of names or any discrepancy. In Maharashtra, the earlier last date for filing claims and objections was October 26. It has now been extended to November 13. Voters will thus get additional time to correct their details or to lodge objections regarding the roll.

The date for disposing of the claims and objections filed has also changed. In Maharashtra they will now be disposed of by November 25. The earlier deadline was November 10. Maharashtra's final electoral roll will now be published on November 30. The draft SIR roll for the state was published on August 31, after which voters were given an opportunity to file claims and objections regarding names, addresses and other details in the roll.

Dates have changed in Delhi too. There, the deadline for filing claims and objections has been extended from October 30 to November 25. The deadline for processing claims has moved from November 30 to December 15. Delhi's final electoral roll will be published on December 22.

The last date for processing notices has also been extended in Haryana, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Nagaland. Under the new schedule, the final electoral roll will be published on November 30 in five states, including Maharashtra, while in Delhi it will come out on December 22.

The third phase of the SIR is under way in 16 states and three Union Territories, including Haryana, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Delhi. In this phase, 36.73 crore voters are to be verified. Ten states and three Union Territories were already covered in the first and second phases. Among the states in the third phase, Maharashtra has the highest number of voters, while Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have the fewest.