SIR row: ECI pulls up TMC govt for withholding BLO honorarium, says ‘very strange’

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has pulled up the West Bengal authorities for not releasing the accrued honorarium for booth level officers (BLOs) and the further outgo approved for the ongoing peculiar intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.In a statement, the canvass assemblage said it had informed an All India Trinamool Congress delegation during a November 28 gathering that the hold successful payments was “very strange”. “We told the AITC delegation… that it is precise unusual that the accrued honorarium of Rs 12,000 per twelvemonth for BLOs and an further Rs 6,000 to BLOs for SIRs approved by the ECI has not yet been paid by the authorities government. This should beryllium done without immoderate further delay.”In August, the canvass assemblage had doubled the yearly remuneration of BLOs from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 and raised the outgo for BLO supervisors from Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000. It besides approved an honorarium for electoral registration officers (EROs) and adjunct electoral registration officers (AEROs). The Commission said the revision was meant to admit the important enactment of tract teams engaged successful preparing cleanable and transparent elector lists.

"Pure electoral rolls are the bedrock of democracy. The electoral rotation machinery, consisting of EROs, AEROs, BLO Supervisors and BLOs, does a batch of hard enactment and plays a pivotal relation successful the mentation of impartial and transparent electoral rolls," a property merchandise said. The merchandise added, "The committee has truthful decided to treble the yearly remuneration for BLOs & besides enhanced the remuneration of BLO Supervisors progressive successful the mentation and revision of electoral rolls."The improvement comes amid crisp disapproval from TMC, whose 10-member MPs’ delegation met main predetermination commissioner Gyanesh Kumar connected Friday to reason the SIR workout being conducted successful West Bengal and different states.After the meeting, enactment MP Derek O’Brien said the delegation handed implicit a database of astir 40 radical allegedly “dead due to the fact that of the SIR process”. “We started the gathering by telling him that Mr Kumar and the Election Commission of India person humor connected their hands,” helium said.The standoff adds to the ongoing friction betwixt the authorities authorities and the ECI implicit electoral rotation revisions, with some sides trading charges.(with inputs from agencies)