SEC Sharma discusses Panchayat Electoral Roll Revision in J&K

JAMMU, JANUARY 04: State Election Commissioner, BR Sharma chaired a meeting today with officers to deliberate on the revision of the Panchayat Electoral Roll in Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioners from all 20 districts, Director Rural Development Department Kashmir/Jammu, Director Panchayati Raj Jammu, Relief & Rehabilitation Commissioner, J&K, State Informatics Officer, NIC, District Informatics Officers, and other concerned in person and through virtual mode.

During the meeting, the SEC emphasized the importance of the draft publication of electoral rolls and the filing of objections.

He outlined plans for special camps in January and February to facilitate the revision process, drawing from experiences in the previous revision where over seven lakh electorates were added.

Discussions revolved around the mother roll and supplementary roll conducted in October and November 2023. SEC Sharma projected an addition of three lakh new electorates in the upcoming Panchayat roll revision.

The meeting addressed the availability of soft/hard copies of the last updated Panchayat electoral rolls, serving as the draft for the new qualifying date of January 1, 2024. Integration of supplements prepared due to continuous voter updation with reference to January 1, 2023, was also discussed during the meeting.

During the meeting, several key decisions were made regarding the printing of Electoral Rolls (ER) and the availability of necessary infrastructure, including printing machines with focusing on the publication of the draft roll in both online and offline modes.

The SEC also stressed the inclusion of new voters in Panchayat rolls whose names already exist in assembly rolls. Besides, the meeting also covered the updation of Electoral Registration Officers (ERO), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AERO), Panchayat Election Booth Officials (FEBO), and other details on district websites.

The meeting also addressed the financial requirements for each district related to electoral roll updation and SVEEP activity.

The meeting also held discussions on a tentative schedule for the revision, the creation of a handbook for revision procedures, and thorough deliberation on other pertinent issues.