Indian Express: Pune: Sunday,
April 20, 2014.
THE row over
missing names from the electoral rolls in Pune has highlighted several issues
plaguing the poll process in the district. As per official figures, there are
around 65 lakh registered voters in the district, but many say this figure is
inaccurate and allege that the names of more than one lakh voters are missing
from the voters’ list in Pune city alone.
The
preparation work of the electoral rolls is entrusted with the district
collectorate. A Right to Information (RTI) application filed by advocate Anupam
Saraph has shown that the process is riddled with flaws. Saraph, who has
pursued the matter since 2009, claims that the electoral rolls are not being
prepared as per norms.
Electoral
rolls across the country are prepared as per the Registration of Electoral
Rule, 1960. Saraph pointed out how section 60 of this rule makes it mandatory
that the rolls are arranged according to house numbers, but this was not done
in Pune. “The electoral rolls are made at random, with no address being more than
10 characters,” he said.
Saraph said
in 2011, the Central Election Commission (CEC) had issued directions to prepare
the electoral rolls by conducting door-to-door survey. “School teachers were
roped in to do the survey but the compilation of the rolls were not prepared as
per the rules,” he claimed.
Saraph said
the Act says that for the purpose of preparing the roll, the registry of births
and deaths of the region are needed. However, RTI documents accessed by Saraph
showed that this was not taken into consideration.
.JPG)
.JPG)
