Photo electoral rolls being revised for panchayat polls

HYDERABAD:Gearing up to conduct panchayat raj elections, the State Election Commission (SEC) has issued notification for preparation and publication of ward-wise electoral rolls of gram panchayats. As per the schedule, the final rolls with voter photos will be published on May 17 by the district panchayat officer.

In the notification, SEC secretary M Ashok Kumar reiterated that the district panchayat officer had no powers to suo motu revise gram panchayat electoral rolls by way of deletions, additions or modifications unless the same are ordered by the electoral registration officer in Assembly electoral rolls first. Since, as per law, the gram panchayat electoral rolls are mere depiction of Assembly constituency electoral rolls, as far as the rural voters are concerned, anybody wishing to prefer a claim for inclusion or deletion of any name or any objection in respect of any entry in the roll so published shall file the same before the Assembly Constituency Electoral Registration Officer concerned. The same will be carried into the wards concerned of the gram panchayat electoral rolls by the district panchayat officer.

The photo electoral rolls of gram panchayts will be prepared by adopting latest Assembly electoral rolls published with reference to January 2018 list.

Electoral Roll Schedule

* April 30: Preparation of draft photo electoral rolls for gram panchayats

* May 1: Meeting with representatives of political parties at district level

* May 3: Meetings at mandal level

* May 1 to 8: Receipt of objections, if any, on rearrangement of rural Assembly voters into ward and gram panchayat electoral rolls

* May 10: Disposal of objections

* May 17: Final publication of photo electoral rolls of gram panchayats