SIR akin to Bihar across states to witness removal of dead voters from voter list
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New Delhi (PTI): The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across all states in the near future will witness a trend akin to Bihar where lakhs of deceased persons were removed from the voter list after several years.
The Election Commission believes that once the system of linking data of registrar of births and deaths with poll machinery takes firm roots, the issue of deceased persons being part of electoral rolls will eventually be settled.
Before the SIR commenced in Bihar, the state had 7.89 crore electors. After the exercise started, the draft roll published on August 1 had 7.24 crore electors, as nearly 65 lakh names were removed, including 22 lakh deceased persons.
Addressing the media here in August, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar had explained that nearly 22 lakh electors identified as deceased in Bihar did not die recently but were perhaps not recorded in the past.
Responding to a question, Kumar said during the previous normal revision of electoral rolls, enumeration forms were not handed out to every household.
Till people inform about deaths in their families, booth level officers (BLOs) have no means to know about such cases, he said.
During the intensive revision, when the exercise is more stringent, the poll machinery is more vigilant about the deletion of people who have either died or have shifted.
In a bid to update the voter list at a faster pace and make it free of errors, the poll authority will now obtain death registration data electronically from the Registrar General of India (RGI).
This will ensure that the electoral registration officers (EROs) receive timely information about registered deaths and allow the BLOs to reverify the information through field visits, without waiting for a formal request by the kin of the deceased.
"People have no incentive to inform the poll authorities of deaths in their families. But once the data linkage takes root, the presence of deceased persons in the voter list will eventually end," a functionary said.
The functionary said once data linkage with the RGI and municipal and rural bodies is firmly established, the voter list will be more error-free.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
