Latest news with #SChockalingam
Time of India
04-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Maharashtra CEO S Chockalingam to head Centre's panel for 'land stack' pilot
PUNE: Maharashtra's chief electoral officer S Chockalingam has been appointed chairman of a high-level committee set up by the Union rural development ministry's department of land resources to pilot Centre's ambitious 'Land Stack' project in Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh to streamline governance, reduce duplication, increase transparency and ensure public access to authentic land records. The project aims to create an integrated digital database of land-related information, including ownership, registration, cadastral maps and development plans, accessible to citizens and all departments handling land. According to Centre's July 19 notification, the pilot will be launched in one city and one village in Tamil Nadu and in Chandigarh-chosen for their relatively well-maintained land databases. The pilot, expected to run for six months, will serve as a model for a future nationwide rollout. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune "This is an integrated land information system. One database will have all the information related to a particular piece of land," Chockalingam told TOI. "Globally, around 50 countries have adopted this model. Some maintain up to 35 layers of land data, while others retain key features like cadastral maps, registration records and master plans. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is this legal? Access all TV channels without a subscription! Techno Mag Learn More Undo The idea is that with a single click, departments and citizens can check whether a plot is under reservation or not," he said. The CEO said the land stack will also address gaps in the availability of reliable land information, critical when buyers need to verify ownership, zoning or legal restrictions. "The principle of caveat emptor (buyer beware) applies to land purchases too. But when accurate information is scattered or inaccessible, it undermines the buyer's ability to make informed decisions. This project will help bridge that gap," he said.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
2002 base yr for intensive revision of state poll roll
Nashik: Maharashtra will use 2002 as the cut-off year for an intensive electoral roll revision when the Election Commission of India initiates Bihar-like checks in the state, chief electoral officer S Chockalingam told TOI. He said the last intensive revision was conducted in 2002, which will serve as the basis for the upcoming revision in Maharashtra. The assembly constituency-wise data from 2002 has been forwarded to the EC. The officer explained that in Bihar, the last intensive revision took place in 2003, and that year has been selected as the cut-off for the current special intensive revision ahead of assembly elections. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Chockalingam said, "The intensive review is held periodically after 20-25 years. In Maharashtra, it was last done in 2002. Hence, the electoral roll of 2002 will be the basis of the future intensive revision. The timeline and schedule will be decided by the EC." Officials from the election office told TOI that the intensive revision will help eliminate fake names from the roll. Shashikant Mangrule, the deputy district election officer of Nashik, said master trainers for booth-level officers have been trained for the intensive revision and are now training BLOs locally. Chockalingam added that BLOs must visit every home to verify each voter on the current electoral roll during the intensive revision. The exercise is managed through a mobile application provided by the EC. "Every voter has to be verified. The task is huge and time-consuming. Voters whose names were in the last intensive revision in 2002 in Maharashtra are only required to personally sign a form. However, people whose names were added later have to provide proof of residence and citizenship to the BLOs during the exercise aimed at removing voters who have died or permanently shifted," the officer said. Chockalingam said training for BLOs was on and included familiarisation with all types of revisions, including summary and intensive revisions.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Maharashtra to use 2002 as base year for intensive electoral roll revision, says Chockalingam
Nashik: Maharashtra will use 2002 as the cut-off year for an intensive electoral roll revision when the initiates Bihar-like checks in the state, chief electoral officer S Chockalingam told TOI. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He said the last intensive revision was conducted in 2002, which will serve as the basis for the upcoming revision in Maharashtra. The assembly constituency-wise data from 2002 has been forwarded to the EC. The officer explained that in Bihar, the last intensive revision took place in 2003, and that year has been selected as the cut-off for the current 'special intensive revision' ahead of the assembly elections in the northern state. Chockalingam said, "The intensive review is held periodically after 20-25 years. In Maharashtra, it was last done in 2002. Hence, the electoral roll of 2002 will be the basis of the future intensive revision. The timeline and schedule will be decided by the EC." Senior officials from the election office told TOI that the intensive revision will help eliminate fake names from the electoral roll. Shashikant Mangrule, the deputy district election officer of Nashik, said master trainers for booth-level officers have been trained for the intensive revision and are now training BLOs locally. Chockalingam added that BLOs must visit every home to verify each voter on the current electoral roll during the intensive revision. The exercise is managed through a mobile application provided by the EC. "Every voter has to be verified. The task is huge and time-consuming. Voters whose names were in the last intensive revision in 2002 in Maharashtra are only required to personally sign a form. However, people whose names were added later have to provide proof of residence and citizenship to the BLOs during the exercise aimed at removing voters who have died or permanently shifted," the officer said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Chockalingam said training for BLOs was on and included familiarisation with all types of revisions, including summary and intensive revisions. Mangrule said voter data from 2002, according to the then-existing assembly segments, had been sent to the EC. "The EC has also started training master trainers who will, in turn, guide the BLOs for the exercise. They have been asked to be ready for the exercise, though the decision has not been announced yet," he said. Sagar Shirke, the talathi of Ojhar village in Niphad taluka, who attended the training, said: "We were told about the exercise going on in Bihar. We were explained how it has to be conducted, how to edit the pre-filled information of the existing voters, how to add, verify and submit documents." He added, "We have been asked to be ready for a house-to-house survey, which does not happen in summary revision. In the usual summary revision, we are limited to filling in various forms of addition, shifting, and deletion of voters' names."
Hindustan Times
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Warehouse planned on Wadala salt pan land to stock EVMs
MUMBAI: The state government is planning to construct a warehouse on a plot, classified as salt pan land a few decades ago but has since been lying vacant, in Wadala, to stock electronic voting machines (EVMs) issued to Mumbai city collectorate. The machines are traditionally stored in select sections of offices of the Mumbai Port Authority, Railways, and schools, among other places. The state chief electoral officer (CEO) S Chockalingam said, 'While earlier, EVMs were even stored in godowns stocking food grains, now we have decided to construct special places to store them. We have constructed similar godowns in 21 districts.' The Mumbai city district, stretching from Colaba to Mahim, has 2537 polling stations, with 6869 ballot units, 4798 control units and 4982 voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines, said Mumbai city deputy district election officer Shyam Surwase. The warehouse in Wadala will house the machines put to use in this stretch of south Mumbai. Surwase told HT, the size of the godown and cost to construct it are yet to be determined. The city faced a severe dearth of space to store the machines earlier, leading to election officials often complaining about the EVMs' poor performance when they get wrecked from dampness. That's the reason why it was deemed fit to allocate the land in Wadala, people in the know told HT. According to the city's development plan (DP-2034) which was inked in 2018, the proposed land parcel was reserved for rehabilitation and resettlement of project affected people, or a depot for BEST or to be left as a natural area. In 2021, the then collector of Mumbai city district and the chief electoral officer wrote to the Urban Development Department (UDD) to renegotiate the reservation of the natural area for a 3846 sq-metre plot, and facilitate it for the warehouse to store EVM and VVPAT machines. The original salt pan plot was de-reserved last week. Throwing light on the use of the warehouse, an official from the Election Commission said, 'Political parties have made it fashionable to blame EVMs at times of defeat. Earlier, Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed the machines, and now Opposition parties have taken the plunge. Many leaders also file election petitions. During the last assembly elections, in Mumbai, we had to hold back EVMs of Mumbai North West Parliamentary constituency as Amol Kirtikar of Shiv Sena (UBT) lost narrowly and filed election petition. Huge space is required to stock the machines. Once each district has its own godown and proper security is put in place, the allegations of tampering will go away completely.' Plans are also afoot to replicate the process in the Mumbai suburban district (Bandra-Dahisar and Sion-Mulund). The EVMs here are stacked in a godown of Food Corporation of India, in Borivili, and the Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation, in Goregaon. A senior official in the know of things, from the suburban collectorate, said: 'We have asked for a plot next to the Mumbai city collectorate's godown at Wadala or a plot next to the veterinary college in Goregaon, owned by state animal husbandry department. The Mumbai suburban district needs a plot of at least four acres for a godown, which would cost at least ₹60 crore to build. As the budget is huge, the plan is on hold.' Thane collector Ashok Shingare said, a similar godown has been planned in Kalwa. 'We have 18 assembly segments and a large number of EVMs. We had a meeting with CEO Chokalingham recently and have asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to draw a plan,' said Shingare.
