Pre-SIR Mapping Progress in Maharashtra's Urban Areas Lags Behind Rural Districts Maharashtra’s urban districts have emerged as the weakest links in the ongoing pre-special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, with key cities like Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur, and Mumbai City reporting significantly lower voter mapping coverage compared to the state’s overall average. Official data reveals that while the statewide average stands at 54.15%, urban centers lag far behind. Pune, the state’s second-largest city, has the lowest coverage at 27.47%, followed by Mumbai Suburban at 28.35%, Thane at 30.92%, Nagpur at 34.49%, and Mumbai City at 39.36%. These figures are particularly striking given that these districts account for a substantial portion of Maharashtra’s electorate. Pune alone has over 91.5 lakh electors, while Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Nagpur, and Mumbai City collectively hold more than 150 lakh voters. Despite this, the number of voters mapped so far remains proportionally low, slowing the overall progress of the exercise. A senior official attributed the slow pace to the frequent movement of people within cities and to other locations, making it difficult for booth level officers (BLOs) to trace voters. “In many cases, houses are found locked or occupants have moved out,” the official noted. This challenge is compounded by the initial shortage of BLOs on duty. For instance, Nagpur district, which has 4,610 BLOs assigned, initially had over 1,000 officers absent, which hindered early progress. While the number of absentee BLOs has since dropped to 250, the initial gap created a bottleneck in the mapping process. Low public engagement in urban areas has also contributed to the slow progress. Field staff report that urban residents are often reluctant to cooperate with BLOs, with many asking for appointments at later times.#nagpur #maharashtra #thane #pune #mumbai_suburban
