Bhubaneswar: Shri Gyanesh Bharti, India’s Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, today chaired a crucial review meeting at the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Odisha to assess the progress of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) program.
During the high-level session held in the conference hall, he comprehensively evaluated all operational parameters and field-level activities being executed across the state.
The high-level meeting was attended by ECI Principal Secretary Shri S. B. Joshi, ECI Deputy Secretary Shri Abhinav Agrawal, Chief Electoral Officer Shri R. S. Gopalan, Additional CEO Shri Sushant Kumar Mishra, and Deputy CEO Dr. Laxmiprasad Sahu.
According to updates shared in the meeting, Odisha had a total of 3.33 crore voters during the pre-SIR period. Out of these, the mapping for 3.16 crore voters, which accounts for 94.6 percent, has been successfully completed, leaving only 5.34 percent of voters unmapped. As of June 16, which is Tuesday, about 99.20 percent of the enumeration forms have been distributed, and 46.44 percent of those voters have undergone digitization. Sundargarh district has emerged as the top performer in the state for both form distribution and digitization processes.
The Senior Deputy Election Commissioner held individual discussions with the collectors and district election officers of nine districts to evaluate their respective statuses. The discussions focused heavily on the number of enumeration forms distributed to date, the percentage of digitization completed, and the specific challenges causing delays in the process. During the event, Additional CEO Shri Sushant Kumar Mishra gave a PowerPoint presentation to the Senior Deputy Election Commissioner detailing the progress of the revision process across the state. Shri Gyanesh Bharti expressed his satisfaction with the progress of the Special Intensive Revision in Odisha and directed the officials to complete all tasks before the deadline. He also emphasized during his interaction with the collectors that no eligible voter should be left out of the list.
To make the Special Intensive Revision smoother and faster, a ban has been imposed on transfers and appointments of officers engaged in SIR duties across all assembly constituencies in the state. For the smooth management of the voter list revision, an additional 275 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers have been appointed. Meetings have already been conducted with all recognized political parties in the state. Hearing camps have also been established at the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer level to resolve claims and objections. Training has been provided to District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers. Furthermore, help centers have been made functional at both the Chief Electoral Officer and District Election Officer levels so that general voters can register their grievances and seek assistance. Adequate staff deployment has been ensured at both field and state levels. For the successful implementation of SIR-2026, a total of 31 District Election Officers, 147 Electoral Registration Officers, and 994 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers have been deployed.
Although the official deadline for the distribution and submission of enumeration forms is June 28, Chief Electoral Officer Shri R. S. Gopalan directed the collectors of the nine participating districts to expedite the work and wrap up all processes between June 23 and June 24.
Several district collectors also participated, including Nayagarh Collector Smt. Madhumita Rath, Cuttack Collector Shri Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde, Balasore Collector Shri Mayur Vikas Suryavanshi, Jajpur Collector Shri Ambar Kumar Kar, Jagatsinghpur Collector Shri J. Sonal, Bhadrak Collector Shri Dillip Routray, Angul Collector Shri Abdal M. Akhtar, and Kendrapara Collector Shri Raghuram R. Iyer. Additional Commissioner of BMC Shri Shubhendu Kumar Sahu and Bhubaneswar Sub-Collector-cum-Electoral Registration Officer Dr. Manoranjan Sahu were also present.
The Senior Deputy Election Commissioner is on a two-day visit to Odisha. After conducting the review in Bhubaneswar on his first day, he is scheduled to visit Ganjam district tomorrow to discuss the progress of the Special Intensive Revision with the local district administration.