MUMBAI, 4 January 2007 — In an innovate move, the Maharashtra Election Commission is ready to issue voter’s cards, a much-conveted proof of identity, on the spot, provided that the residents in the state have no changes to be made in the electoral rolls. With elections to the 10 municipal corporations in the state to be held in a month’s time, the voter’s cards would be a boon for the voters.
The chief electoral officer, U.P.S. Madan, said that preparations for the mammoth 600 million rupees exercise covering more than six million voters in Maharashtra is complete after unsuccessful attempts in the past to continue issuing election cards after they were launched in 1994-95. Only about 60 percent of the electorate is believed to currently possess an election identity card.
The election department is leaving no stone unturned for the three-phase campaign to be launched this month. “We are now in the last phase of training our staff to handle this gigantic exercise,” said Madan.
The software has been finalized and tenders have been issued to three companies to take digital pictures of the voter, scan it and prepare the card.
The election staff will scrutinize the verification documents submitted by the voter and issue the card. As part of the preparation, the election department has also compiled photo-electoral rolls — a feature available only in a few states like Kerala.
“Information about voters with an election card was tallied with the updated electoral rolls of 2006,” explains Madan. But a lot of data couldn’t be retrieved from the old records.
“As of now, only 2.6 million voters with election cards have identical data on the rolls. We need to confirm the data about the other voters who possess the card. The picture will become clearer once they come forward and comprehensive data is compiled,” he says.
The department will issue an individual intimation slip to all voters soon. Those who already possess an election card can avail of a new one if any of the particulars therein are incorrect. However, if they wish to get a new card or wish to register a change of address, they will have to pay Rs. 25.
“For faulty cards issued by us, we will not charge the voter,” said Madan, while encouraging even those with election cards to go for a new one even if it’s for a new photograph. “It will give us an updated database,” he said.
