Municipal Corporation employees will no longer be required to perform ‘double duty’; consequently, the Commissioner has assigned the responsibility for the census to newly appointed inspectors. It is pertinent to note here that, acting on directives from the Central Government, the census survey work has commenced simultaneously with the process of updating voter lists.
For this undertaking, Municipal Corporation officials had assigned double duties to numerous employees, causing inconvenience to the public as routine municipal operations were being neglected. Furthermore, the decision to impose double duties on employees constituted a violation of the Election Commission’s orders; specifically, a letter issued by the State Election Commissioner on April 7 stipulated that employees deployed for updating voter lists must not be assigned to the census survey or any other task in addition to that duty. Following an exposé by *Punjab Kesari* regarding this matter, Municipal Corporation employees will no longer be required to perform double duty. To this end, the Commissioner has distributed the newly appointed government inspectors across the four zones and entrusted them with the responsibility for the census, thereby raising hopes that employees will return to their regular workstations within the Municipal Corporation.
**23-Year-Old Records to Serve as Basis for Updating Voter Lists**
The Election Commission has initiated a process to update voter lists with the aim of curbing electoral fraud during voting. For this exercise, records dating back 23 years will be utilized as the primary reference point. According to available information, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are conducting door-to-door visits to cross-verify details against the voter list from the year 2003. During this process, separate reports are being compiled regarding individuals who have passed away or have relocated to other areas. Additionally, individuals who have moved to their current location from another part of the city are being asked to produce their previous voter cards; this documentation will serve as the basis for future decisions regarding the updating of voter lists and the enrollment of new voters.
