A pilot project of updating electoral rolls through common service centres (CSCs) will soon be launched in rural areas of Tiruvannamalai and Krishnagiri districts.
Apart from printing of Forms 6/8A and 8, the CSCs, Web-enabled kiosks to provide access to government services and information, will take up data entry, inclusion or transposition of names and correction of entries in the electoral rolls. They will scan photographs of voters or capture their images digitally.
A memorandum of understanding on the project was signed on Wednesday by Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta and Head Operations (Tamil Nadu) of SREI Sahaj e-Village K. Vijay Iyer. In the two districts, the agency is operating the kiosks.
Noting that the CSCs were being managed by village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs), Mr. Gupta said their training would begin shortly. In a month, the project would be inaugurated.
To a query, the CEO replied that the idea of tapping the services of kiosks originated with the Election Commission, a few years ago, intimating the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer of its approval to provide voter service through the CSCs.
By entrusting the function with the kiosks, there would be no additional financial burden on the State government. The amount that would otherwise be spent (by adopting the conventional method) would be earmarked.
Asked whether the conventional method of updating the rolls would be replaced completely, he replied that this depended upon the success of the functioning of the CSCs. The expansion of the project would be dependent upon the kiosks becoming fully operational.
Mr. Iyer said that for every three villages, one kiosk had been opened.
