Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 21: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has banned transfer of District Election Officers (Deputy Commissioners) and other officers involved in the Special Summary Revision of Electoral Rolls till January 5, 2013 when the electoral rolls would be finally published and the General Administration Department of State Government has forwarded a formal communication to all the Administrative Secretaries for strict compliance of the directives.
In a communication addressed to the Chief Secretary of the State, Secretary in the Election Commission of India, Ashish Chakraborty, has mentioned that as exercise for Special Summary Revision of the Electoral Rolls with reference to January 1, 2013 as the qualifying date has been initiated and this exercise requires a massive effort on the part of the electoral authorities to produce clean and accurate electoral rolls, the Election Commission has imposed ban on transfers of the officers and officials engaged in the revision process.
“The existing provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 stipulate that any officer or staff employed in connection with the preparation, revision and correction of the electoral rolls shall be deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission for the period of revision of electoral rolls”, the Secretary said, adding “transfer of officers and officials engaged in roll revision during the period of revision will adversely affect the work and the quality of revision process, which otherwise involves meticulous planning, professional management, close supervision and monitoring”.
“In view of the extant provisions of the law, no officer or official connected with the exercise of revision of electoral rolls particularly District Election Officers, who happen to be Deputy Commissioners, Deputy District Election Officers, the Electoral Registration Officers and the Assistant Electoral Registration Officers should be transferred from the places of posting without the prior concurrence of the Election Commission till January 5, 2013, which is the date for final publication of electoral rolls”, the Secretary said in the communiqué.
The communiqué further said: “In case, it becomes absolutely necessary to transfer any of the key election officers connected with the revision of rolls or there is any need for shifting of officers due to their promotion, the Election Commission would consider the same on merits on a case to case basis. Any proposal for inevitable transfer may be sent to the Commission giving detailed and full justification for the same”.
In order to ensure strict compliance of the directives of the Election Commission of India, the General Administration Department has written to all the Administrative Secretaries asking them to ensure that no officer or official engaged in the Special Summary Revision of Electoral Rolls is transferred till the completion of process.
It is pertinent to mention here that Election Commission orders revision of electoral rolls every year with the prime objective to produce clean and accurate rolls with the cooperation and involvement of the electors, political parties, rural and urban local bodies and Non-Governmental Organizations.
The draft of the electoral rolls was published on October 1 and till October 31 the concerned authorities will be receiving claims and objections. For disposal of claims and objections, the Election Commission has fixed December 1, 2012 as last date. From December 1 till December 31 there will be updating of database, merging of photographs, updating of control tables and preparation and printing of supplementary list.
On January 5, 2013, the electoral rolls will be finally published.
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