Punjab has ordered a freeze on the transfer of all Booth Level Officers (BLOs) deployed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, scheduled to begin across the state on June 25, following directions from the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Officials said all preparations for the exercise have been completed. Under the latest orders issued on Friday, BLOs — who play a key role in the process — are not to be transferred anywhere until October 2, 2026. Those already transferred are to be recalled to their original postings.
The orders underline that BLOs are critical field functionaries for the smooth conduct of the SIR, responsible for door-to-door distribution and collection of enumeration forms, as well as verification and submission
of data.
Authorities said the names of BLOs were frozen on June 8 and have already been communicated to the ECI. The transfer ban will remain in place until October 1.
In preparation for the exercise, BLOs across the state underwent training on June 15.
District administration officials have urged citizens not to take the exercise lightly and to extend full cooperation to field teams visiting households, providing complete, accurate and transparent information. The exercise aims to remap voter details based on electoral rolls from 2003, ensuring that all eligible voters’ records are correctly updated and linked in the electoral database.
Officials warned that removal from the voter list could lead to difficulties in accessing government benefits.
Swati Tiwana, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Khanna, said the exercise should be taken seriously.
“The importance of this voter card is even greater than any other document because it contains all your details. So, it should be filled out with the utmost importance whenever the door-to-door teams visit your home,” Tiwana said.
