Jammu: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to be conducted only after February 2027, when the second phase of the Census exercise is expected to conclude in the Union Territory, Greater Kashmir reported.
The indication was given by the Election Commission of India (ECI) while notifying the schedule for Phase III of the SIR exercise covering 16 States and three Union Territories.
According to the report, the ECI stated that the schedule for Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh would be announced later after considering the completion of Phase II of the Census and weather conditions in upper reaches and snow-bound areas.
J&K Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Verma, when contacted by Greater Kashmir, gave a cautious response on the development.
“Today the ECI has announced the phase III schedule. J&K, along with Ladakh and HP, will be taken in the next phase (of SIR) following the completion of the census exercise. We’ll notify the dates (of SIR) as and when the schedule will be announced (by the ECI),” Verma said.
With the schedule issued by the ECI on May 14, the SIR of electoral rolls will now cover the entire country in Phase III, except Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.
“After considering the completion of phase-II of the census in these three State and UTs and due consideration of the weather in the upper reaches and snow bound areas, SIR schedule for these three State and UTs will be announced later,” the ECI said, according to the report.
The Census 2027 process in Jammu and Kashmir is scheduled to begin on May 17, 2026, and will be completed in two phases.
The first phase, covering House Listing and Housing Census (HLO), will include self-enumeration from May 17 to May 31, followed by house-to-house field work from June 1 to June 30, 2026.
The second phase, dealing with Population Enumeration, including caste census, will commence in September 2026 for snow-bound areas and in February 2027 for non-snowbound regions.
As per the report, the delayed SIR exercise is unlikely to impact the ongoing preparations for Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Official sources told Greater Kashmir that the State Election Commission (SEC) may independently decide whether to wait for the SIR process before conducting Panchayat polls.
“This is an independent process. There is no definitive correlation between the two (SIR and Panchayat Polls) as their revised lists are already ready. It (SIR) could have helped them in cross-checking and re-verification,” sources were quoted as saying.
The process of updating electoral rolls for Panchayat polls has almost been completed, with revised lists showing around a three percent increase in the number of voters. The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published by the SEC on May 20.
According to reports, the SEC has also written to the J&K government seeking a decision on recommendations of the OBC Commission, which remains pending. Elections to Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are expected to be held only after the government takes a call on OBC reservation.
The ECI has said the SIR process is a participatory exercise involving electors, political parties and election officials, and urged political parties to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for every polling booth to ensure transparency and wider participation.
