Delhi: Permanent Voter Registration, EPIC Centres

New Delhi, Feb 13: For the first time in the country permanent Voter Registration and Electors' photo identity cards Centres will be opened in all 70 Assembly constituencies in the national capital.

Giving this information today Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Satbir Silas Bedi said, the first such VREC would be opened tomorrow in the Seema Puri area of East Delhi.

In order to address the problem faced by the people because Voter Registration and EPIC Centres functioned only for short durations before elections, such offices would now remain open throughout the year, she said.

Another ten centres would open by next month and all 70 offices would start functioning by the end of the next fiscal, she added.

VERC's, to be headed by Assistant Electoral Registration Officer and manned by permanent staff, would be overseen by District Collectors.

''With the setting up of VRECs together with appointment of Booth Level Officers in all the 70 Assembly constituencies of the city, we hope to prepare a clean, defect free and truely representative Photo Electoral Roll before the election to Delhi Legislative Assembly in November 2008,'' Ms Bedi said.

At VERCs one could get his name included in the Electoral Roll, raise objection to a name or get it deleted, correct an existing entry, transportation of an entry from one polling station area to another in the same Electoral Roll, preparation and issuance of EPICs, and inspect the Electoral Roll.

The project to set up VERCs was supported by Delhi government and the Election Commission of India.

After the successful opening of permanent VERCs in the national capital, the move would also be emulated in other parts of the country.

UNI