TN revenue staff announce boycott of SIR, citing severe work pressure
Chennai: The Federation of Revenue Department Associations announced that it will boycott the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, alleging that the exercise has been launched without adequate planning, manpower support or financial allocation.
The decision comes as nearly 70,000 Revenue Department staff, including those deputed as Polling Station Officers, report unprecedented workloads and rising mental stress.
In a detailed statement, the federation said the Election Department has abruptly imposed the SIR work on revenue employees without proper training, additional staff support, or logistical arrangements.
“Officials across all levels are experiencing intense pressure and mental strain. We have already submitted a formal appeal to the Chief Electoral Officer seeking relief, but the situation has only worsened,” the federation stated.
The associations further alleged that several District Collectors were “harassing and threatening” junior officials under the guise of review meetings, leading to growing resentment among field staff. In protest, the federation announced a complete boycott of the SIR process from Tuesday.
The boycott is likely to significantly impact the SIR exercise, as a large section of the state’s frontline workforce is currently tied to the revision duty.
Tamil Nadu has over 54,000 Anganwadi and mini-Anganwadi centres, employing around 70,000 workers. According to the federation, nearly 80 per cent of them have been appointed as Polling Station Officers for the revision.
The association pointed out that even Anganwadi organisers and helpers working in the same centre have been assigned election duty, severely affecting essential nutrition services for children.
The federation said its responsibilities under SIR include distributing revision forms, collecting the filled-in forms, and uploading the data to the computer system. While the rules stipulate that staff can be asked to assist with electoral work between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., officials allege they are being forced to engage in SIR duties from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., disrupting regular departmental responsibilities.
The federation demanded an extension of the deadline for completing the revision and immediate removal of the requirement for Revenue staff to upload filled-in forms to the system.
Until these issues are resolved, the associations declared their full boycott of the Special Revision process. The statement announced that all unions and officers involved as Polling Station Officers would join the boycott movement.