The Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated the Special Intensive Review (SIR) to collate a new electoral roll for Bihar, ahead of the assembly polls slated for October-November. The 2003 SIR is the base for the complex exercise, which, until now, has never been held in just three months before an election.

In SIR, booth level officers (BLO) visit every home in the state, something similar to a census, with the objective to find out whether a person willing to enrol in the voters’ list resides there. Unlike the census, the BLOs will seek documents to prove that the person was born in India and is not an illegal migrant.

As per the ECI guidelines issued on June 24, each voter will have to submit an enrolment form to the BLO, who will then forward them to the electoral registration officer (ERO), mandated under law to prepare a draft electoral roll. Those whose names were there in 2003 SIR, will have to submit the form with a screenshot of their name in the two-decade old SIR.

Others will have to submit one of the 11 documents listed by the election commission to prove that they were born in India along with enrolment form for being considered inclusion in the rolls. These include birth certificate, matriculation certificate and land record.

On Saturday, the commission clarified that proof of citizenship is required only........

© hindustantimes