The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, on Thursday has imposed a strict ban on the transfer of government employees and officials working as booth level officers (BLOs) and sector supervisors for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls-2026.The Additional Chief Electoral Officer in a communication to the Secretary, Education Department, has made it clear that no employee deployed in connection with the SIR exercise shall be relieved or displaced from their present place of posting before the completion of the process on October 1 or any extended date notified by the Election Commission of India.The directions have come in light of the Education Department putting on hold transfers of teachers, who are on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) duty.The Election Commission has stated that any transfer orders issued for such officials shall be kept in abeyance till the SIR is completed. The Election Commission has already frozen the names and designations of all BLOs as on June 3, 2026, and these have been pre-printed on the enumeration forms.The Chief Electoral Officer has allowed the process of pending and future transfers to proceed. The employees will, however, be required to continue working at their current place of posting till the completion of SIR on October 1.The communication is in response to a proposal from the School Education Department seeking clarity on transfers. The Chief Electoral Officer’s office referred to its earlier letters dated June 12 and June 16, in which it had clearly intimated that BLOs and other officials involved in the conduct of SIR cannot be transferred without prior approval of the Election Commission of India.The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is a major drive being undertaken across Punjab to update and purify the voter lists ahead of future elections. BLOs, who are usually school teachers and other government employees, play a crucial role in door-to-door verification and enumeration.Meanwhile, a delegation of the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) Punjab, led by state president Vikram Dev Singh, met Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra here on Thursday and raised key issues concerning Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and supervisors during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Regarding the DTF’s demand to reduce or rationalise BLO duties of teachers so that students’ studies are not affected, the CEO said this issue would be examined seriously after the completion of the current SIR.