SIR in Bengal: ₹18,000 not paid? EC slams Mamata Banerjee-led govt over unpaid BLO honorarium

The Election Commission of India (ECI) criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led government, telling the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) that it is “very strange” that the enhanced honorarium of ₹12,000 per year and an additional ₹6,000 for SIR approved by ECI for BLOs and EROs has not yet been disbursed by the State Government.

The Commission noted that the payments should be disbursed without any further delay.

“Why is the West Bengal Government harassing the BLOs by not releasing the due amounts to them? When will they release it?” EC officials told LiveMint.

The Election Commission on Saturday announced a hike in remuneration for Booth Level Officers (BLOs), doubling their pay from ₹6,000 to ₹12,000 per election cycle. The revision also raises the pay for BLO supervisors, increasing it from ₹12,000 to ₹18,000.

"The electoral roll machinery, consisting of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), BLO Supervisors and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) do a lot of hard work and play a pivotal role in preparation of impartial and transparent electoral rolls. The Commission has therefore decided to double the annual remuneration for BLOs and also enhanced the remuneration of BLO Supervisors involved in the preparation and revision of electoral rolls," the EC said through a statement.

Meanwhile, an estimated 7.65 crore enumeration forms have been distributed in West Bengal till Saturday as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which began on November 4, an Election Commission official said.

The poll panel asserted that not a single eligible voter will be left out.

ANI reported, citing sources, that the Commission issued a detailed, point-by-point rebuttal to all "baseless allegations and unfounded apprehensions" raised by the AITC delegation.

The ECI stressed that the ongoing electoral roll revision exercise is conducted strictly in accordance with constitutional provisions and electoral law.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission wrote to West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar, directing him to ensure the security of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the SIR exercise after receiving reports that there is "an apparent threat" to their safety.

This is EC's second letter to the state government in three days, expressing concern over the security of poll officials in West Bengal.

On Wednesday, the EC wrote to Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma over a "serious security breach" at the CEO's office, following an agitation by a section of BLOs against "excessive work pressure".

The EC insisted that the state must ensure there is no “perceptible atmosphere of fear, threat and undue influence” on the field functionaries and that no untoward incident occurs at any place.

Over 80,000 BLOs are currently engaged in the distribution, collection and digitisation of enumeration forms for the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, alleged that the state administration was involved in manipulating the electoral rolls during the ongoing SIR, and that senior officials were personally intervening to retain ineligible names in the voter list, as reported by PTI.

He said the EC should have acted “a little more swiftly” during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

(With inputs from agencies)