CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: With political parties and pressure groups in Meghalaya increasingly demanding a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Chief Electoral Officer of Meghalaya BDR Tiwari on Tuesday said the state is fully prepared to carry out the exercise once the Election Commission of India announces the schedule. He said the proposed revision is significant as it involves lineage-based verification of voter records.
The SIR exercise, initiated by the Election Commission of India for 2025-26, aims to comprehensively verify electoral rolls across the country, including scrutiny of parental identity, ancestral voter details, and lineage to establish citizenship credentials. The exercise has already been conducted in phases in Bihar and other states and is expected to be implemented in Meghalaya after official notification.
Speaking to mediapersons in Shillong, Dr Tiwari said, "In respect to SIR, whenever the schedule for Meghalaya is announced by the Election Commission of India, we will proceed accordingly."
When asked about the possibility of conducting the exercise before the Lok Sabha by-election, he said, "Everything is up to the Election Commission of India."
Explaining the process, he said the revision involves detailed verification of the voter list over multiple phases. He added that reference points such as 1 July 1987 under the Citizenship Act and earlier SIR records, including those from December 2004 in Meghalaya, would be considered during verification.
He further said, "We check lineage and establish voter identity. For younger voters, parental or grandparental voter records and identity proofs are required as per ECI guidelines."
Dr Tiwari said Meghalaya has already completed preparatory exercises and is ready for implementation. "As in other states, Meghalaya is also prepared for the SIR exercise as per the Election Commission's schedule," he added.
He noted that several organisations and political parties have been demanding the exercise, describing SIR as a routine nationwide process carried out periodically. He also said internal assessments showed that around 80 per cent of voter records in the state have already been verified. Reiterating transparency, he said the exercise would include house-to-house verification and be conducted as per ECI guidelines once the schedule is announced.
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