SIR of electoral roll: Teachers body demands govt to stop ‘slavery practice’ of issuing arrest warrant if BLOs miss BLO duty 

“In fact, this work (BLO duty) after school hours is difficult. In case the work is not completed for any reason or the BLO employee cannot come to the office due to vacation, personal or any other reason, a warrant is issued by the office as if he is a criminal. If the fieldwork takes more time, a written letter is issued informing the teacher of taking punitive action. More than two lakh teachers from all over Gujarat feel that a decision should be taken in this regard,” the president of Akhil Bhartiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh Gujarat Mitesh Bhatt said in the representation.

Further, adding that despite a written notification issued by the Central Election Commission to distribute the BLO duties equally among the 12 cadres of various government and semi-government employees,  more than 90 per cent of the BLOs are teachers, the teachers body said.

Demanding to raise a separate cadre for BLOs as per the previous recommendation of the Administrative Reforms Commission, the association added that in Gujarat, more than 38,000 teachers are working as BLOs in more than 51,000 booths.

“If any representation is made by the teachers, no proper reply is given by the authority concerned. Many times, there will be rude behaviour. If a teacher is unable to attend the meeting or perform the work for any reason, he/she should be given an opportunity to explain,” it said.

According to the various phases of SIR, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit the voters from house to house from November 4 to December 4 and fill the enumeration forms.