ECI rolls out ₹6,000 bonus for BLOs as SIR third phase begins

THe Election charge of bharat (ECI) has proclaimed a one-time additional defrayment of ₹6,000 to each one for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and their supervisors engaged in the ongoing third phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a move aimed at recognising their contribution in the process, EC officials said.The incentive was first introduced for Bihar, the pilot state for the extensive exercise.“We have increased the allowance for BLO after the pilot project implementation in Bihar. This will motivate them to perform their duties to the best of their ability,” a senior ECI official said.In August 2025, the Commission had doubled BLO remuneration from ₹6,000 to ₹12,000 per year, while salaries of BLO supervisors were raised from ₹12,000 to ₹18,000. This was the first revision since 2015.The third phase, ordered on May 14, 2026, across 16 states and three Union territories, is currently underway in Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim and Manipur, where enumeration began on May 30. Together, the four states account for over 36.7 million electors and more than 43,000 BLOs on the ground — 38,123 in Odisha, followed by 2,996 in Manipur, 1,353 in Mizoram and 572 in Sikkim.The remaining states in Phase III will follow a staggered schedule running through October. Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu and Uttarakhand enter the enumeration phase on June 4 and June 8 respectively, with draft rolls due in July. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh begin BLO verification from June 15, with final rolls published on September 22. Telangana and Punjab begin house visits on June 25, with final rolls on October 1. Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi begin BLO visits on June 30, with final rolls on October 7. Nagaland follows a later cycle with BLO visits beginning September 15 and final rolls on December 23. Once Phase III concludes, the SIR will have covered the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, where the schedule will be announced later pending completion of Census Phase-II and on account of weather conditions in snow-bound areas.BLOs — typically school teachers, anganwadi workers or other state government employees designated for the task — are conducting house-to-house visits, distributing and collecting enumeration forms, and verifying residencies of existing electors. Each BLO is required to carry at least 30 blank Form 6s to enrol new voters on the spot. Their supervisors coordinate clusters of booths and liaise with electoral registration officers (EROs).According to EC, over 500,000 BLOs are involved in all SIR phases across the country.“The primary objective of SIR is to ensure only eligible citizens figure in electoral rolls while removing duplicate, shifted, deceased or otherwise ineligible entries. The exercise is being conducted under Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Voters in the four states who submit their Enumeration Forms to the ERO by June 28, 2026 will be included in the draft electoral roll, to be published on July 5. The claims and objections window runs to August 4, with the final rolls due on September 6,” a senior EC official said.