Election Commission extends Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana by 10 days

📌 Summary:

• The Election Commission extended the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Haryana and Andhra Pradesh by 10 days; enumeration-form deadline moved from July 14 to July 24, draft roll publication from July 21 to July 31
• Revised schedule: Booth Level Officer (BLO) house-to-house visits till July 24; draft rolls on July 31; claims and objections July 31–August 30; disposal by September 28; final roll on October 3
• SIR's third phase (16 states + 3 UTs) was announced on May 14; enumeration in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh began June 5
• In Haryana ~36 lakh voters yet to be cleared; forms awaited from ~2.88 lakh electors; over 33 lakh placed in ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Duplicate or Dead) category
• Haryana received forms from ~1.70 crore electors (82.38% of 2.06 crore voters), all digitised; Andhra sought extension as 40 lakh forms (9%) still uncollected
• CEOs said the extension is to ensure 'not even a single eligible elector is left out'

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Polity — electoral roll revision, powers of the Election Commission under Article 324 and the Representation of the People Act; debate over purity of rolls vs disenfranchisement risk.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• SIR = Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls
• Booth Level Officer (BLO) conducts house-to-house enumeration
• ASDD = Absent, Shifted, Duplicate or Dead category of electors
• Draft roll → claims/objections → final roll is the standard revision sequence

🔑 Key Term: Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — a door-to-door, house-by-house re-verification of the entire electoral roll, more exhaustive than the routine annual summary revision.