Around 15% SIR forms distributed in Mumbai in 10 days; Election Commission of India apprised of monsoon fury

Mumbai: With Maharashtra reeling under the monsoon’s fury, just around 10%-15% forms for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) have been distributed to voters in Mumbai and a total of 46% in the state over the last 10 days since the drive began.

Of these, just 6.5% have been collected or digitised in the state.The state’s Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam has informed the Election Commission of India (ECI) about the monsoon mayhem, especially in the Konkan region which encompasses Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The SIR is being conducted from June 30 to July 29.The issue of the impact of the monsoon on the SIR was raised in the state assembly on Wednesday by Congress leader Amin Patel, who demanded that its period should be extended.

“It is raining hard and maybe just 1% of the SIR has been completed in the city. Teachers are struggling and are able to put in only two hours of SIR duty after finishing their teaching job,” Patel had said.Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar said he had also received complaints about SIR forms not being received in Mumbai and had conveyed this information to Chockalingam.“Everyone wants a form and there are many complaints that the SIR forms have not been received.

I have informed Chockalingam about this but cannot do more because this comes under the ECI and Central government,” said Narwekar, who is also an MLA from Colaba in south Mumbai.Chockalingam has also written to the ECI about concerns raised by political parties regarding voters who have had to move out temporarily from buildings undergoing redevelopment. “Political parties have requested that since the voters have moved out temporarily, they should be allowed to register their address at their original polling booth,” said a senior official.‘Fill and sign SIR form even if documents incomplete’Election officials have said that citizens should not panic if they do not have all the documents required for the SIR. “They should fill the SIR form and sign it. Then they will be in the draft roll,” said a senior official.