Bhubaneswar: The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, has appointed ten senior IAS officers as Electoral Roll Observers to oversee the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state with July 1, 2026 as the qualifying date.
In an official communication issued by Additional Chief Electoral Officer-cum-Special Secretary to Government Sushanta Kumar Mishra, the appointments have been made under the powers conferred upon the Election Commission of India under Article 324 of the Constitution of India.
The observers include senior officers from various departments such as Cooperation, Higher Education, Tourism, ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare, Odia Language, Literature and Culture, Industries (IDCO), MSME, Public Enterprises, and the Revenue Divisional Commissioners of the Central, Northern and Southern Divisions.
They are Rajesh Pravakar Patil, Aravind Agrawal, Balwant Singh, B. Parameswaran, Bijay Ketan Upadhaya,D. Prasantha Kumar Reddy, Sudhansu Mohan Samal, Rashmita Panda, Md. Sadique Alam, and Sangram Keshari Mohapatra.
According to the directions, the observers will undertake three rounds of field visits during the revision process. The first visit will coincide with the period for receipt of claims and objections, with observers expected to be present in one of the districts under their charge on designated special campaign days. The second visit will take place during the disposal of claims and objections by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), while the third visit will be conducted during verification of the working copy by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), printing of supplements, and final publication of the electoral roll.
The CEO’s office has instructed the observers not to confine their visits to district headquarters but to inspect polling stations in Assembly constituencies. They have also been directed to convene meetings with sitting MPs, MLAs and representatives of recognised political parties to hear grievances related to the electoral roll revision and encourage their participation in the process. Members of the public will also be allowed to meet the observers to raise roll-related complaints.
The communication further states that details of the observers’ tour programmes and contact numbers should be widely publicised in the districts under their charge. Observers have also been asked to personally scrutinise reports submitted by District Election Officers in Assembly constituencies where voter additions or deletions exceed one per cent above the district average or are more than three per cent in any constituency.
The observers have been instructed to submit detailed reports to the Chief Electoral Officer after each visit based on the prescribed checklists issued by the Election Commission of India.
Meanwhile, the CEO, Odisha, has convened a meeting of all Electoral Roll Observers on July 4 at 4 pm at the CEO’s Conference Hall in Bhubaneswar to brief them on their roles and responsibilities. The officers have also been asked to share their respective tour plans with the CEO’s office.
