WB has not released enhanced honorarium to BLOs, EC tells TMC

The Election Commission (EC) has told a visiting Trinamool Congress delegation that the West Bengal Government has not yet disbursed the enhanced honorarium to booth-level officers (BLOs), their supervisors and electoral registration officers (EROs), EC sources said here on Saturday.

According to the sources, EC officials conveyed their “surprise” that despite the clear instructions issued in August, the revised annual honorarium — Rs 12,000 for BLOs, plus an additional Rs 6,000 for the special intensive revision (SIR) — had still not been released by the state administration. The honorarium for EROs and Assistant EROs, approved for the first time, also remained pending.

“The EC made it clear to the delegation that these payments must be made without any further delay,” a senior official said. The August order had doubled the remuneration for the BLOs and raised payments for supervisors, noting that the electoral roll teams form the “bedrock of democracy” and had not received a revision since 2015.

The sources said the EC also flagged concerns over attempts to pressure BLOs. In separate communications, the EC wrote to the West Bengal DGP and the Kolkata Police Commissioner, directing them to ensure that BLOs were not threatened or coerced by political workers during the ongoing roll revision.

Officials additionally said despite objections from the TMC, the EC had instructed all district election officers to set up new polling stations in slums, high-rise buildings and gated communities.

A 10-member TMC delegation, led by Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, had on Thursday met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged that 40 SIR-related deaths had occurred in West Bengal so far.

The delegation accused the poll panel chief of having “blood on his hands” and handed over to him the list of the 40 “casualties”. The poll body has termed the allegations as "baseless" and asked the TMC to refrain from “spreading misinformation” related to the SIR.