Over 99.5 pc of Delhi voters receive SIR forms; digitisation nears 18 pc

New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI) More than 99.5 per cent of Delhi's 1.45 crore electors have been provided enumeration forms under the SIR of electoral rolls, with the digitisation of completed forms nearing 18 per cent, according to official data. As per the cumulative status report issued by Delhi chief electoral officer (CEO), a total of 1,44,44,600 enumeration forms have been distributed, covering 99.55 per cent of the capital's 1,45,10,298 electors as of 8 pm on Thursday. The number of digitised forms stood at 26,02,654, accounting for 17.94 per cent of the total electorate. With distribution almost complete, the exercise is expected to increasingly focus on the collection and digitisation of filled enumeration forms. The Election Commission has extended the SIR schedule for Delhi. House-to-house visits by booth-level officers (BLOs) will continue till August 8. The draft electoral rolls will be published on August 17, while the final electoral rolls will be published on October 19. According to the CEO's data, North East recorded the highest number of forms distributed at 18,70,748, followed by East (15,99,227), South East (15,55,011), West (14,44,266) and South (13,44,999). In percentage terms, Old Delhi, New Delhi, North East and South achieved 100 per cent distribution, followed by Central (99.89 per cent), Outer North (99.89 per cent) and South East (99.85 per cent). North West recorded the lowest distribution percentage at 97.26 per cent, followed by West (99.47 per cent), North (99.61 per cent), East (99.74 per cent) and Central North (99.79 per cent). In terms of digitisation, South West led with 3,45,526 forms, followed by West (3,13,489), Outer North (2,77,429), North East (2,77,102) and North West (2,69,813). Percentage-wise, Outer North recorded the highest digitisation rate at 33.32 per cent, followed by South West (25.98 per cent), Central North (21.91 per cent), West (21.53 per cent) and North West (21.13 per cent). South East recorded the lowest digitisation rate at 11.22 per cent, followed by Old Delhi (11.25 per cent), East (11.34 per cent), Central (13.87 per cent) and South (13.89 per cent). Under the SIR exercise, BLOs are distributing two copies of the enumeration form to every elector. One copy is retained by the voter as acknowledgement, while the other is submitted to the BLO after being filled. Voters can also submit their forms online. PTI MSJ PRK