Shillong, July 4: There have been 100% coverage of Elector’s Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) in the North Eastern States of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura, while it is 98.47% in Arunachal Pradesh, 88.66% in Manipur, 44.81% in Nagaland, while it has not been implemented so far in Assam.
The use of EPIC by the Election Commission has made the electoral process simple, smoother and quicker. EPICs are issued to electors throughout the country to check bogus voting and impersonation of electors at elections. The electoral roll is the basis for issue of EPICs to the registered electors.
The electoral rolls are usually revised every year with 1st January of the year as the qualifying date. Every Indian citizen who attains the age of 18 years or above as on that date is eligible for inclusion in the electoral roll and can apply for the same. Once he is registered in the roll, he would be eligible for getting an EPIC.
The scheme of issuing the EPICs is, therefore, a continuous and ongoing process for the completion of which no time limit can be fixed as the registration of electors is an ongoing process on account of more number of persons becoming eligible for the right of franchise on attaining the age of 18. It has been the endeavour of the Election Commission to achieve the target of 100% coverage under the EPIC scheme, as far as practicable, in a time-bound manner.(SP News)
