The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a significant hike in the annual remuneration for its ground-level electoral staff, primarily Booth Level Officers (BLOs), recognizing their “pivotal role” in preparing impartial and transparent electoral rolls, the poll panel said in a press note on Saturday.
The move, which doubles the annual pay for BLOs and enhances the remuneration for BLO Supervisors, also introduces an honorarium for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant EROs (AEROs) for the first time.
The decision reflects the ECI’s commitment to adequately compensate election personnel who work tirelessly at the field level to maintain accurate electoral rolls, assist voters, and strengthen the electoral process—which the press note describes as the “bedrock of democracy.”
The annual remuneration for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) has been doubled from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000. The incentive provided to BLOs for revision of the electoral roll has also been doubled, moving from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000.
In a significant step, the ECI has decided to provide an honorarium to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) for the first time. EROs will now receive an honorarium of Rs 30,000, while AEROs will receive Rs 25,000.
These officers, along with BLO Supervisors and BLOs, constitute the core machinery responsible for the preparation and revision of electoral rolls.
In addition to the annual increase, the Commission had also previously approved a special incentive of Rs 6,000 for BLOs involved in a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), starting with the state of Bihar.
The substantial increase in compensation is expected to boost the morale of the election staff and motivate them to continue their hard work in maintaining accurate and transparent electoral rolls, a crucial function for the health of India’s democracy.