Bhubaneswar, July 4 (APAC Media): The Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed 10 senior IAS officers including IAS Balwant Singh as Electoral Roll Observers for Odisha to oversee the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process across the state.
The observers will monitor the revision process to ensure that every eligible voter is included and no ineligible name is added to the electoral rolls.
The appointments were issued by Additional Chief Electoral Officer-cum-Special Secretary Sushant Kumar Mishra, who also allocated districts to each observer.
The district-wise deployment is as follows:
- IAS Rajesh Prabhakar Patil – Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada and Jajpur
- IAS Aravind Agrawal – Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj
- IAS Balwant Singh – Kalahandi, Balangir and Nuapada
- IAS V. Parameswaran – Subarnapur, Boudh and Kandhamal
- IAS Bijay Ketan Upadhyaya – Deogarh, Sambalpur and Bargarh
- IAS D. Prasanna Kumar Reddy – Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada
- IAS Sudhanshu Mohan Samal – Cuttack, Dhenkanal and Angul
- IAS Rashmita Panda – Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh and Bhubaneswar
- IAS Mohammed Sadiq Alam – Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri
- IAS Sangram Keshari Mahapatra – Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Jharsuguda
The officers will supervise the revision exercise in their allotted districts throughout the programme.
Each observer has been directed to visit the assigned districts at least three times during the revision exercise.
Apart from district headquarters, they will inspect polling stations in different Assembly constituencies to assess the progress of the revision at the grassroots level.
During these visits, the observers will meet:
- Members of Parliament (MPs)
- Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)
- Representatives of recognised political parties
- Election officials
- Members of the public
They will also hear complaints related to electoral rolls and ensure their timely resolution.
The observers will closely examine Assembly constituencies where additions or deletions in voter lists exceed the limits set by the Election Commission.
These include cases where:
- Additions or deletions are more than 1% above the district average, or
- Overall changes exceed 3% in an Assembly constituency.
Based on reports from District Election Officers (DEOs), the observers will conduct field verification wherever required.
After every visit, the observers will submit detailed reports to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, highlighting their findings and recommendations.
The Election Commission has directed officials to ensure:
- No eligible voter is left out
- No ineligible person is included
- The entire revision process remains transparent, fair and legally compliant
The Commission has also announced the following schedule:
- Draft Electoral Roll: July 5, 2026
- Claims and Objections: July 5 to August 4, 2026
Citizens can use:
- Form 6 – Inclusion of new voters
- Form 7 – Deletion of names
- Form 8 – Correction or updating of voter details
The Election Commission has urged all eligible voters to verify their details once the draft rolls are published and submit any claims or objections within the prescribed timeline.
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