Work pressure related to SIR

Often, workload is not just the amount of work to be completed within a set time. It is the intense mental pressure created around that work. Constant reminders from superiors about unfinished tasks, threats of official action if deadlines are missed, and warnings of possible legal consequences- all of this together creates heavy mental stress. Not everyone has the strength to handle it. This pressure can lead to anxiety, depression, and even suicide. For some time now, the workload and stress faced by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) appointed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists have been a major topic of discussion. There have also been reports of officials in several states taking their own lives because they could not bear the pressure.

After receiving complaints from states, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where the SIR is being carried out, the Election Commission of India recently extended the deadline for data collection and digitisation by one week. In addition, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed states to appoint more staff if needed to reduce the burden on BLOs. The Court noted that even though employees cannot avoid election-related duties, they cannot be harassed or pressured because of it. The Court also said that if an employee applies to be exempted from SIR duties due to health or other valid reasons, the authorities should consider the request seriously. If the reasons are genuine, the employee should be relieved from the duty and someone else should be appointed.

According to available information, around 40 government employees across different states have committed suicide reportedly due to the stress related to SIR work. In Tamil Nadu, most of those who died were anganwadi workers and teachers, as mentioned in a petition filed by TVK, the political party led by actor Vijay. West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have also reported a higher number of suicides linked to SIR pressure.

However, some argue that not all these deaths are due to work pressure and that certain political groups are wrongly linking personal or family-related suicides to SIR work to oppose the voter list revision.

Politics aside, there is no disputing the practical difficulties faced by employees involved in SIR work. Kerala, which is currently busy with local body election preparations, has already requested that voter list-related work—unnecessary for the ongoing elections—be postponed until after the local polls are over. The Supreme Court’s direction to appoint more staff to reduce the burden on existing employees is a welcome relief. But what matters now is how quickly state governments act on this instruction. To reduce the stress faced by SIR staff, the steps ordered by the Court should be implemented as early as possible.