Bhubaneswar, Jul 21: The upcoming three-tier Panchayat elections in Odisha may be delayed due to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, State Election Commission (SEC) Secretary Santosh Kumar Das said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference after a video conference with district collectors, Das said the final electoral roll will be published only after the SIR process is completed. The revision exercise aims to prepare a clean and error-free voter list ahead of the Panchayat and Urban Local Body (ULB) elections.

As part of the exercise, a door-to-door voter verification survey will be conducted from October 26 to November 7. District collectors have been directed to constitute survey teams by July 31. The teams will include Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Anganwadi workers, and ASHA workers to ensure comprehensive verification of eligible voters.

The SEC also informed that the final ward-wise voter lists are expected to be published by February 10. During the review meeting, officials discussed reservation arrangements, the number of voters per polling booth, and the creation of new polling stations for the upcoming Panchayat and municipal elections.

The Commission further reviewed the status of pending bills and utilisation certificates related to the 2022 Urban Local Body elections and instructed district administrations to clear all pending dues at the earliest.

The virtual meeting was attended by Sub-Collectors serving as ULB election nodal officers, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Deputy Collectors, Assistant Collectors, and other election officials, who reviewed preparations for the forthcoming local body elections.