SIR 2.0: India's Paperless Voter Roll Revision System Expands to 12 New States

New Delhi:

The Phase 2 of the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls is set to require no paperwork. Sources indicate that this user-friendly approach stems from lessons learned during the SIR project in Bihar.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while announcing the second phase of SIR, explained that if a voter's name doesn't appear in both old and new voter lists within a month of submitting the enumeration form, they only need to provide one of 12 documents - the original 11 from Bihar SIR plus Aadhaar cards which have been newly added.

This contrasts with Bihar's process where voters had to submit eligibility documents alongside their enumeration forms.

The CEC noted that approximately 60-70% of voters' names have already been identified through mapping of old and new voter lists. Voters can verify their status by visiting the Election Commission's website. Only individuals whose names and their parents' names are missing from both lists will need to submit documentation for inclusion.

Learning from Bihar's experience, a scanning option has been implemented allowing voters to submit digital copies of documents from home.

The Chief Election Commissioner mentioned that while Assam has elections scheduled next year, the state will not undergo SIR due to its different citizenship rules. A separate date for Assam's roll revision will be announced later.

SIR 2.0 will differ from Bihar's implementation as the duplication issue will not persist in the new states. While de-duplication software is typically used to identify electors with multiple voter ID cards, the Commission states this won't be necessary as duplicate enumeration forms will result in name removal.

The Chief Election Commission has urged voters not to submit multiple enumeration forms.

During Supreme Court hearings on the SIR issue, petitioner Yogendra Yadav had raised concerns about duplicate EPIC numbers following revision. When NDTV questioned this, Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar responded, "We urge people to fill out the enumeration form from only one place. Action may be taken against those who fill out the form from two places."

The second phase will cover 12 states and Union Territories: Andaman and Nicobar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The SIR process was initially implemented in Bihar, which faces assembly elections next month, during June-July.