Hundreds of people evicted during the recent series of eviction drives in Assam have to apply afresh to get their names enlisted in the electoral rolls in their new locations even as the Assam government has started the process of special revision of electoral rolls in the state.

Chief Electoral Officer of Assam Navin Goyal on Tuesday said as the state is preparing for a special review of the electoral rolls, those evicted from their houses during the recent eviction drives must apply in their new place of habitation using Form 8.

“This is a special revision where the booth level officers (BLOs) will go house-to-house to ensure inclusion of correct data of the electorate. However, I was informed by the district commissioners that people have already left those locations in most places where eviction drives have been carried out. So the BLOs would not be able to verify their names,” Goyal said.

He said the evicted people, however, can apply using their elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) and Form 8 through BLOs in their new locations.

Thousands of people in different districts have lost their houses as the Assam government launched a series of eviction drives in illegal settlements since May this year. According to a recent announcement by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the government has so far freed over 1.3 lakh bighas of land from illegal encroachment across the state.

The CM has also stated that nearly 29 lakh bighas of land are still under unlawful occupation.

The CEO said there are laws ensuring the names of homeless people and pavement dwellers' inclusion in the electoral rolls. He said the basic objective of the special revision is to ensure that names of all genuine eligible citizens are included in the electoral rolls and that names of all ineligible voters are deleted.

He said that 29,656 BLOs would go home-to-home to physically verify the names of the citizens.