‘ECI will ensure error-free and authenticated rolls in country’
SHILLONG: The Election Commission of India has asked the Chief Electoral Officer of Meghalaya to hold a camp on May 12 to educate the voters about the new initiative – National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP) – which aims to bring out a complete error-free and authenticated electoral roll throughout the country.
Addressing a press conference here in the city after a meeting with the electoral officers of the eight Northeastern states, Deputy Election Officer S. Tripathi asserted that the initiative has been taken to purify the electoral rolls and to identify and eliminate all errors from the rolls.
The programme was launched on March 3 and the entire process would be completed by August 15 this year, he added.
According to Tripathi, the Election Commission of India has also launched the National Voter’s Service Portal from where voters can check their status in the electoral rolls besides knowing the location of their polling stations. Voters can even get a printout their voting slip from the portal.
Umesh Sinha, who is also the Deputy Election Officer, asserted that the ECI wants to provide efficient services to the voters by linking the rolls with the e-mail ID and phone numbers of the voters and with Aadhaar in those states where it has been implemented.
Asked about the presence of dubious voters in the electoral rolls, the ECI officials said the issue of dubious voters will be dealt with separately by other wings of the Commission.
Reacting to a query on how the new initiative would be implemented in Meghalaya where Aadhaar system has not been implemented, the officials said Northeastern states would need additional time to complete the process in the absence of Aadhaar.
He further stated that those states which do not have Aadhaar have been asked to ensure purification and authentication of the electoral rolls on their own.
Observing that IT infrastructure in rural areas of Meghalaya was poor the ECI officials said the Common Service Centres have to play a pivotal role in achieving the desired goal.
It may be mentioned here that Chief Electoral Officers of all the eight Northeastern states met in Shillong on Wednesday to discuss the implementation of the National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP).
