Special Intensive Revision Mumbai Blo Teachers Bmc Skip Voter Verification Duty

The first day of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Mumbai got off to a faltering start on Tuesday after hundreds of booth level officers (BLOs), many of them school teachers and BMC employees, stayed away from duty, demanding to be formally relieved of their regular work before taking up the month-long voter verification exercise.

Officials said at least 300 BLOs across Mumbai did not report to collect enumeration forms, disrupting the rollout of the door to door verification drive.

The SIR exercise requires BLOs to visit every household in their assigned area, fill and verify enumeration forms, obtain signatures and upload the details online. Mumbai has around 10,000 BLOs, of which around 7,000 are BMC employees and 3,000 are school teachers from government and aided school, with a few from other government offices. Each BLO has been assigned around 900 to 1,000 voters and is expected to visit every household at least three times over the next month.

“The task at hand is difficult. Often, housing societies refuse to allow the BLOs inside. Residents are suspicious, are away for work, and ask them to return on weekends,” said a senior election official overseeing the exercise in the Vile Parle Assembly constituency.

Officials said the absentee BLOs were demanding that they be officially relieved of their routine responsibilities before taking up election work. However, election authorities said a Supreme Court order does not permit exempting teachers and government employees from BLO duties.

In the Vile Parle constituency alone, nearly 75 of around 280 BLOs did not report to collect the forms. In another Mumbai Suburban constituency, around 10 per cent of the appointed BLOs remained absent, while heavy rain affected field work for many others.

According to Subhash More, working president of the Shikshak Bharti Association, around 200 to 300 teachers appointed as BLOs across Mumbai stayed away from duty.

He also alleged that BLOs have not been provided travel allowance, adequate safety measures or clarity on the full extent of their responsibilities despite already undergoing training and self mapping work during school holidays.

Election officials acknowledged the concerns but said they had little room to manoeuvre.

“We are empathetic to the BLOs’ demands, as it is a humungous task in front of them. And if it has to be done to high standards, their undivided energies towards the enumeration are required,” an Electoral Registration Officer said.

“Our efforts are on to speak with principals to unofficially allow relaxations in the BLO’s work. But principals have not been receptive, as they are tasked with the responsibility of running schools. Discussions are on, and hopefully a compromise will be found in the coming days,” the official added.

Officials said the self mapping exercise conducted before the launch has eased the workload to some extent. In Vile Parle, around 65 per cent of voters had completed self mapping, reducing the amount of field verification required.

Aanchal Goyal, the Mumbai City Collector, one of the senior officials overlooking the exercise in Mumbai, said she was not been notified of any BLOs not reporting for duty. “As it has been raining all day, enumeration has been affected. And while there is a demand from school teachers to be officially relieved, there is a Supreme Court order denying it. Additionally, teachers are also paid an extra honorarium for BLO duty.”

Sabah Virani is a journalist with The Indian Express’ Mumbai bureau, covering infrastructure, housing and urban issues. In the realms of technical fields, she brings out human stories and the pace of change ongoing in the city. Expertise Specialised Role: Tracking infrastructure in Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Sabah’s reporting tracks progress on various projects. From bridges to metros, she mixes technical details with resourceful information. Core coverage areas: Sabah keeps a close eye on the activities of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and its projects across the MMR, including the metros, road projects, bridges, the bullet train, pod taxi, its role as a planning authority, and more. She also watches for developments from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) and the GoM’s Urban Development department. Housing: Sabah also tracks developments in housing, particularly the workings of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). She also keeps a keen watch on the big redevelopment projects ongoing in Mumbai, including the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, Motilal Nagar, Kamathipura, BDD Chawl redevelopment, among others. Occasionally, she reports on the environment, biodiversity, waste, arts and culture. Experience: Prior to working for the Indian Express, Sabah covered the municipality, civic issues and miscellaneous for Hindustan Times. Before that, she covered all things Mumbai for the online publication Citizen Matters. She has also worked as an editorial assistant at FiftyTwo.in. ... Read More