ECI doubles the remuneration of polling officials going to polling stations 3 days in advance
New Delhi [India], June 7 (ANI): Election Commission of India (ECI) in its meeting held on Tuesday under the Chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar along with EC Anup Chandra Pandey decided to double the remuneration of the polling officials going to the polling Stations three days in advance.
Till now the remuneration for Polling Officials used to be a uniform per diem amount for all alike.
This is the third major decision taken by ECI after Rajiv Kumar assumed charge of CEC on May 15.
ECI on May 26 has initiated graded action against 2100 RUPPs under the relevant sections 29A and 29C of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. There are 2,796 registered unrecognised political parties in India as of September 2021, which is an increase of over 300 per cent since 2001.
Kumar, after taking charge of CEC on May 15, in its first meeting of the commission on May 20, The Commission unanimously decided that Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners (ECs) will not take any income tax benefits presently given to them. Further, CEC and ECs will avail of only one LTC in a year in place of three LTCs presently available to them.
According to ECI, all Chief Electoral Officer of Deputy Electoral Officers are also directed to reassess route charts to all Polling stations to work out paths with the best connectivity.
The Commission decided to develop Special water/shock proof, extra protective backpacks/ cases to carry EVM-VVPATs and safeguard the machines provided to all such teams to aid hands-free movement in difficult terrain.
The Commission further directed all DEOs/ROs to visit the P-3 Polling Station locations one year in advance of the General Election to the Legislative Assembly or the Parliament. Chief Electoral Officers would also visit some polling stations themselves.
The Commission further directed that all DEOs/ROs would identify at least the 5 lowest voter turnout booths in each assembly constituency. They shall visit these booths to identify factors for low voting turnout and take targeted interventions to mitigate the factors hampering the voting process.
In order to address voting apathy in urban areas, the Commission decided to undertake focused awareness activities in this respect, the Commission also took note of the fact that under the Negotiable Instruments Act, the polling day is declared as a holiday for all workplaces with the primary purpose of facilitating voting by the employees.
All Central/ State Government Departments / CPSUs/ State PSUs and Corporate entities with 500 plus employees shall appoint a nodal officer to ascertain leave availing but non-voting employees. Special Voter Education and Electoral Participation Awareness sessions would be held for such non-voting members of these organizations.
Further, the Commission shall continue to expeditiously home deliver EPICards to newly enrolled first-time voters. It would equally be their duty to cast their vote. Specially focused Voter Education and Electoral Participation Awareness campaigns would be undertaken for young voters.
The voters migrate from the place of their registration to cities and other places for education, employment and other purposes. It becomes difficult for them to return to their registered Polling Stations to cast their vote. The Commission felt that time has come to explore possibilities of remote voting, maybe on a pilot basis.
A committee would be set up to examine the issues of migrant voters. Given the fact that Voters and Political Parties are the primary stakeholders, the wider consultation with all stakeholders including Political Parties would be started thereafter. (ANI)
Source: National