Ghaziabad: 21 BLOs booked by admin for laxity in SIR duties

Office bearers of the Uttar Pradeshiya Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, an association of government school teachers, has condemned the action

Ghaziabad: In a first, the Ghaziabad district administration on Thursday lodged a named FIR against 21 booth-level officers (BLOs), including 9 women, for alleged laxity in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls related work, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials said that 3,089 BLOs are presently deployed in as many booths across the entire district to take up SIR works and will be reaching out to about 28,00,000 voters to complete work by December 4 deadline. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The FIR was registered at Sihani Gate police station under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, naming the BLOs deployed in Shalimar Garden, Bhovapur, Sahibabad, Indirapuram, Shaheed Nagar, and Khoda, among others who were assigned SIR duties in the Sahibabad assembly constituency.

“This is the first FIR against BLOs and has been lodged for showing laxity in SIR works, which need to be completed in a timeframe. Previously, around the middle of November, we gave a police complaint to register an FIR against 24 other BLOs who were not attending work. After this, they joined the SIR works, and the police complaint was withdrawn. The complaint was not converted into an FIR. So, no FIR was lodged then,” said Saurabh Bhatt, additional district magistrate (finance and revenue).

Officials said that 3,089 BLOs are presently deployed in as many booths across the entire district to take up SIR works and will be reaching out to about 28,00,000 voters to complete the work by December 4 deadline.

A majority of those deployed for the SIR works include government teachers and also Anganwadi workers.

Office bearers of the Uttar Pradeshiya Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, an association of government school teachers, has condemned the action.

“It is complete harassment by the administration even as teachers and other staff are working till late evening and even devoting about 15 hours per day to reach out to voters. There is a lot of pressure on staff, and they are taking drastic steps as a result. We met district officials and asked them to extend the last date of the SIR works. But no one is listening,” said Deepak Sharma, the association’s Ghaziabad district president.

The BLOs in the field said they were working under severe pressure.

“The BLOs are under mental stress due to a short timeframe for completion. We have emergencies at home. But we are not getting any relaxation. There have been no leaves for the past 22 days, even working on Sundays and also on government holidays. We were asked to work 9am to 5pm but it stretches till 6pm to 7pm. Also, there is a lot of pressure from supervisors as they keep calling now and then for feedback,” said a BLO deployed in Dasna.

A 50-year-old Anganwadi worker deployed for the SIR work said that she is diabetic and working regularly.

“About 60% of the work in my block/booth is complete, and I do not see that it will get finished by December 4. People in about 78 houses were not found living there. Some people have gone out of station for marriages, etc. We mostly get free by 6pm or 7pm and have to go home alone. Sometimes, locals also help by offering to drop us home,” the worker deployed in Dasna added.

Meanwhile, Ghaziabad DM Ravinder Kumar Mandar, in an official statement, has directed that the BLOs deployed for the SIR works should not be engaged in routine works of their respective departments, else an FIR will be registered against the concerned officials and their suspension will be recommended.

“About 30% of the work on the SIR has been completed, and the rest is being expedited…about 40 officers have also been deployed to take work in areas where the work is slow. Political parties have also been requested to activate their booth-level agents to help us. Of the 3,089 BLOs, about 11,00 are Anganwadi workers. We understand the complexities in carrying out fieldwork,” District magistrate Ravinder Kumar Mandar said.

He said those deliberately avoiding government work will face action.

“I would say if the BLOs facing FIRs complete their pending works in time, we may withdraw cases against them,” Mandar added.