The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a one-time additional payment of Rs 6,000 for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and their supervisors engaged in the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The move is aimed at recognising the role of field officials involved in the large-scale exercise of updating voter lists across the country.
The incentive was first introduced in Bihar, which served as the pilot state for the revision programme.
“We have increased the allowance for BLO after the pilot project implementation in Bihar. This will motivate them to perform their duties to the best of their ability,” a senior ECI official told Hindustan Times.
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Allowance revised after a decade
The latest payment comes after the Commission revised BLO remuneration in August 2025. At the time, annual payments for BLOs were doubled from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000, while allowances for BLO supervisors were increased from Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000. It marked the first revision in remuneration since 2015.
According to the ECI, more than 5,00,000 BLOs are involved in various phases of the SIR exercise nationwide.
Phase III underway across states
The third phase of the electoral roll revision, ordered on May 14, 2026, is currently underway in Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim and Manipur. Enumeration work began on May 30 in these states, which together account for more than 36.7 million electors and over 43,000 BLOs.
The remaining states and Union Territories will follow a staggered schedule through October. Several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab, are set to begin house-to-house verification in the coming weeks, while Nagaland will begin the process in September.
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Once the third phase is completed, the exercise will cover the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, where schedules will be announced later, per a report by HT.
Role of BLOs in the revision process
BLOs, who are often school teachers, anganwadi workers or other government employees, are responsible for visiting households, distributing and collecting enumeration forms and verifying voter details. They are also required to carry blank Form 6 applications to facilitate on-the-spot voter enrolment.
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“The primary objective of SIR is to ensure only eligible citizens figure in electoral rolls while removing duplicate, shifted, deceased or otherwise ineligible entries. The exercise is being conducted under Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Voters in the four states who submit their Enumeration Forms to the ERO by June 28, 2026 will be included in the draft electoral roll, to be published on July 5. The claims and objections window runs to August 4, with the final rolls due on September 6,” a senior EC official told HT.
