A section of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in West Bengal have reportedly complained about the heavy workload involved in door-to-door distribution of SIR enumeration forms, assisting voters in filling them, and digitising the data within a limited time. Reports say several BLOs have even died by suicide, allegedly citing work pressure. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) play a key role in verifying and correcting voter details during SIR hearings. Amid growing concerns, the Assistant Programme Officer Welfare Association has written a letter to the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Manoj Kumar Agarwal.
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Concerns raised by officers
In the letter, the association said each AERO is being asked to handle around 3,500 to 4,000 "doubtful voter" cases, all of which must be completed before February 7. The organisation said this workload is unrealistic and raised several questions. It asked how accurate and error-free verification could be done in such a short time and suggested extending the deadline or sharing the work among more officers. It also objected to document-related instructions being sent through WhatsApp or virtual messages instead of formal written notices.
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Demand for clarity and response
The letter further raised concerns over the automatic generation of Form 7 without proper checks and sought clarification under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, on mapping voter data with previous SIR records. The association also asked on what legal basis a voter's name would be removed if proper documents are not produced. It said many voters linked to earlier SIRs are now being called for fresh hearings as 'no mapping' cases and face deletion if documents are not submitted. The association said it is deeply worried about these developments. So far, the CEO's office has not responded, though an official said the issues raised will be examined.
