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The Federation of Revenue Associations (FERA) has announced that revenue staff across Tamil Nadu will boycott all work related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls starting November 18, citing severe workload, poor planning, and inadequate staffing.
In a statement issued on Sunday, November 16, FERA said the ongoing SIR campaign is being carried out in a rushed manner, without proper planning, training, staffing, or allocation of financial resources.
The federation said it has already raised these concerns with the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), but conditions on the ground remain unchanged.
Speaking to TNM, MP Murugaiyan, one of the state coordinators of the association, said, “The workload is more severe than ever before. Officers have been assigned additional duties for the SIR work, but the government has not allocated even a single rupee for this exercise.”
“We have already taken this up with the state electoral officer, but the issue remains unresolved. That is why we are being forced to protest,” he added.
The SIR exercise, aimed at updating voter lists, relies heavily on revenue staff, who form the majority of field-level officers involved in the drive.
FERA said the lack of trained officials and the pressure to meet tight deadlines have created intense workload and mental stress across all levels—from village assistants and Village Administrative Officers (VAOs) to surveyors, inspectors, office assistants, and tahsildars.
The federation also alleged that collectors are conducting review meetings late into the night, and some districts are holding up to three video-conference reviews a day, leaving field officers with no time to carry out SIR work on the ground.
FERA has demanded that these late-night meetings be stopped immediately and that officers should not be forced to work on government holidays.
As part of a two-phase agitation, the federation will hold demonstrations in all taluk and district headquarters on November 17, where officials will also submit petitions to district collectors.
A complete boycott of all SIR-related work—including form collection, uploading, digitisation, and participation in review meetings—is planned for November 18.
The federation’s demands include providing sufficient time to complete SIR activities, giving proper training to BLOs, supervisors, and all officers involved, appointing adequate additional staff, and deploying enough booth-level volunteers to minimise errors. They have also sought one month’s honorarium for BLOs, supervisors, and all officials in view of the heavy workload.
The federation has also urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the state CEO to intervene immediately and create a conducive environment for the SIR process.