Bhubaneswar: A review meeting on the progress of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026 of electoral rolls was held on Saturday under the chairmanship of Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R.S. Gopalan, with the recently appointed voter list observers participating in a hybrid mode.
According to an official press release, the meeting was attended by Additional CEO Sushant Kumar Mishra, Joint CEO Gopinath Kuanr, Deputy CEOs Dr. Lakshmiprasad Sahu and Anamika Singh, along with other senior officials.
Ten IAS officers appointed as Voter List Observers for SIR 2026 participated in the review, which assessed the successful completion of the distribution and collection of enumeration forms, the progress of digitisation of the data, and preparations for the publication of the draft electoral roll.
The observers were also briefed on the overall SIR process and their responsibilities during the upcoming phases of the revision exercise.
The CEO’s office had on Friday appointed 10 senior IAS officers as voter list observers for different districts of the state. Under the assignments, Cooperation Secretary Rajesh Prabhakar Patil will oversee Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada and Jajpur districts, while Higher Education Secretary Arvind Agrawal has been assigned Baleshwar, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj.
Tourism Secretary Balwant Singh will monitor Kalahandi, Balangir and Nuapada, while Secretary, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Department, B. Parameswaran, has been assigned Subarnapur, Boudh and Kandhamal.
Odia Language, Literature and Culture Secretary Bijay Ketan Upadhyay will oversee Debagada, Sambalpur and Baragada, while IDCO Managing Director D. Prashant Kumar Reddy has been assigned Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada.
Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Central) Sudhanshu Mohan Samal will supervise Kataka, Dhenkanal and Anugola. MSME Secretary Rashmita Panda has been assigned Puri, Khordha, Nayagada and the Bhubaneswar area.
General Administration Secretary Mohammad Sadiq Alam will oversee Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri, while Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Northern Division) Sangram Keshari Mahapatra has been assigned Kendujhar, Sundaragada and Jharsuguda.
During the meeting, Gopalan directed the observers to closely monitor the scrutiny of the draft electoral roll and the process of disposal of claims and objections. He emphasised that no eligible voter should be left out of the electoral roll and called for ensuring that the voter list is accurate, inclusive and free from errors, the release said.
