Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Sep 5: The Karnataka High Court has issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a public interest litigation challenging the appointment of Anganwadi workers as Booth Level Officers (BLOs), with the petitioners alleging that the additional responsibility is affecting their core duties.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K S Hemalekha heard the PIL filed by the state committee of the Karnataka State Anganwadi Workers and Helpers’ Association, Davanagere, and issued notice to the Election Commission.

Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Umapathi S told the court that assigning BLO duties to Anganwadi workers was leading to several serious consequences.

Firstly, he argued that the additional election responsibility was disrupting the delivery of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and early childhood care and development services for women and children.
Secondly, he submitted that Anganwadi workers were already handling responsibilities linked to various welfare programmes and were now being saddled with additional election duties.

Thirdly, the petitioners pointed out that BLO responsibilities were no longer confined to routine office work. Instead, they involved sensitive field-level duties, including door-to-door verification of voter details and enumeration, the advocate submitted.