EC Plans to Use Bengal's 'Somobyathi' Scheme Database to Identify Deceased Voters During SIR

PTI, KOLKATA, NOV 6, 2025 :  As part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, the Election Commission is planning to use the database of the state government's 'Somobyathi' scheme to identify deceased voters, a senior official said on Thursday.

District magistrates have been instructed by the commission to prepare a list of deceased voters based on the 'Somobyathi' database within ten days, he stated.

"We have plans to use the database of the 'Somobyathi' scheme to identify and remove names of deceased voters from the electoral rolls. Necessary instructions have been sent to the officials in the districts across the state," an official at the state CEO's office told PTI.

Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to the next of kin of a deceased person from poor families to perform the last rites and meet incidental expenses related to cremation or burial. Over the years, thousands of families have availed of the benefit of the scheme, and the government has a comprehensive record of deaths across districts, he said.

Introduced by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2016, the 'Somobyathi' scheme is one of the welfare initiatives launched by her government.

The 'Somobyathi' data would be a key resource, but the commission takes additional measures to verify and cross-check information to ensure accuracy in identifying deceased voters before the final voter list is published, he said.

As part of SIR, booth-level officers started visiting voters' residences from November 4.