Telangana gets three weeks; 40 lakh notices wait
The ECI has moved the SIR claims deadline to October 7 and final-roll publication to November 9 after Telangana sought more time amid a large reported notice backlog.
Telangana’s claims-and-objections deadline has been extended to October 7, with final-roll publication shifted to November 9.
Telangana’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has received three extra weeks, after the state’s election machinery sought more time to deal with a reported backlog of nearly 40 lakh notices. The Election Commission moved the claims-and-objections deadline from September 16 to October 7, extended the notice-disposal phase to November 5 and shifted final-roll publication from October 19 to November 9. The paperwork, at least, has been given time to catch up with reality.
The CEO’s office had sought a two-to-three-week extension, with Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudarshan Reddy saying, “We are waiting for EC’s response.” A report said 92.8 lakh notices had been generated, 52.9 lakh delivered and 39.9 lakh pending. Those delivery figures come from a single report and have not been independently confirmed in the material available. The broader total—about 92.87 lakh electors affected by reported discrepancies—has been corroborated.
The process is reported to be slower in Hyderabad and other urban areas than in rural districts. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy also sought more time, public readings of draft rolls and help desks in urban districts. The ECI has granted the extension, but the public record supplied does not establish whether those additional assistance measures were approved. Telangana now has until October 7; the officials who designed the timetable have until November 9 to make it usable.