For the first time, next year’s civic polls will see city’s 1 lakh homeless exercise their franchise.
For the first time, around one lakh homeless people in the city will be able to vote in next year’s civic elections.
The State Election Commission (SEC) has chalked out a drive to reach out to the homeless and beggars and give them voting rights.
This week, the Election Commission of India directed the SEC to enroll the homeless on the voters’ list.
The SEC has planned to start a drive from September to enroll the people living on the footpaths and in illegal hutments.
“We are starting a drive where our teams of Booth Level Officers (BLO) reach out to the people living on streets or roadsides. The officers will visit the places during the night and help the fill the applications forms,” said Chand Goel, additional chief secretary, SEC.
"According to the ECI guidelines, the officers are required to visit an area at least twice to crosscheck whether the beggar actually stays there.”
Goel said the homeless will not need to have any documents proving proof of resident for the registration, the enrollment will be based on the inspection reports of the BLOs.
He said the Commission will come out with mass campaign for the enrollment of new voters, including the homeless. “The advertisement drive will be undertaken in the next couple of months and that would include print media ads, posters and signages in buses, trains and on petrol pumps,” he added.
The SEC is making the necessary changes to facilitate the registration of the homeless people.
Agni, a non-governmental organisation, stated that the move will benefit people staying in orphanages, hostels, shelter homes, old-age homes and also students in schools and colleges who migrate for some time from their home town.
“This segment of society should not be deprived of their fundamental right, just because they are homeless in the state,” said James John, volunteer of the organisation.
Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has strongly opposed the drive and said that this will lead to the immigrants to come to city freely and occupy the slums.
“The drive will give legal entity to the people illegally living in the city. Once the right is given to them, they will claim to authorise their illegal hutments under the government scheme of houses for the weaker section,” said Shirish Parkar, general secretary of the MNS.
He added that though the Commission is an autonomous body, the government should put the decision on hold and go ahead only when other states implement it.
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