The Election Commission will conduct a special survey for electoral roll revision of nearly 15,500 riot victims who have taken shelter in riot relief camps located far from their native villages in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining districts. The commission has also directed the Muzaffarnagar,Shamli and Baghpat district administrations to take special care of such victims and not delete their names from the rolls if they were not found at their home in the riot-hit localities during the door-to-door survey. The summary revision of the electoral roll started across the state today. In Muzaffarnagar,riot victims have taken shelter in 33 relief camps set up in Budhana Assembly constituency area. Officials said the victims belong to other constituencies of Muzaffarnagar,Shamli and Baghpat districts. A special survey will be done at relief camps where people would be provided Application Form 6 for inclusion of their names in the electoral roll. Computers will also be set up there for online registration, said Umesh Sinha,Chief Electoral Officer of UP. Officials said additional booth level officers would be deployed in relief camps to conduct the survey for voters registration and making changes in their details in the electoral roll. As victims belong to other constituencies,the Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate has been asked to collect the filled forms and forward these to the respective Electoral Registration Officers of the tehsil concerned for survey and updation of the respective electoral roll. Sinha said directions have been issued to take special care of those voters who left their home after riots. There could be homes where an entire family has left the house and has taken shelter in a relief camp or any other place. The administration has been asked to not delete their name during the summary revision, Sinha said. The CEO said if any neighbour confirms that any family has permanently left home before the riots,only then their names would be deleted but not without due verification process. The administration will wait for others to return to their homes this month. After the summary revision,another survey will be done to find out those who have left their homes permanently and if names could be deleted from the electoral roll, he said. Summary revision will conclude on January 6 with publication of the final electoral rolls.
