ID cards: a race against time for poll officials

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JUNE 17. The issue of ``Electors Photo Identity Cards'' (EPIC) in Tamil Nadu is all set to enter a crucial phase in the first week of July, with the Election Commission (EC) `determined to see' that ID cards are used in the next Assembly elections in the State.

As the State plans to go in for on-line issuance of EPIC from July 1 and the EC has already indicated that its use for identification of voters would be mandatory for the next elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Pondicherry, it will be a race against time for the State election authorities here.

The coverage, so far, in Tamil Nadu has been only 52 per cent (of the electorate size of 1999), which the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Mr. Naresh Gupta, admits as `inadequate'.

The State appears to have initially blundered in its methodology, as indicated by the CEC, Dr. M. S. Gill yesterday. They first took the photograph of the voter and then matched it with the records. But the new on-line system will reverse that process with the records first checked, followed by photographs made `then and there' before being laminated and issued.

Though the EPIC scheme was started way back in 1993, the slow pace in Tamil Nadu has been attributed mainly to the ``interruptions'' due to the general elections in 1996, 1998 and 1999, besides the February 2000 by-elections and the special revision of electoral rolls during April-July 1999.

While the CEO has been instructed to complete the production and distribution of EPICs' in the course of the next four to five months, the EC has formulated and communicated comprehensive guidelines for the EPIC programme.

These guidelines cover, inter alia, the system of unique EPIC numbers (the EPIC number will be permanent throughout the lifetime of the elector), specifications for standard software solution, data management strategy and strategy for coverage.

The guidelines require certain formalities to be completed, like software development and printing of certain forms before the EPIC programme is renewed in early July.

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Section  : Southern States
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