MUMBAI: A controversy has erupted in Ghatkopar after the assistant Voters Registration Officer (VRO) from the election office issued a letter to the local police seeking the registration of an FIR against almost 18 teachers for failing to join as booth-level officers (BLOs) to assist in the verification of voter lists.
With local body elections approaching, the district magistrate had issued directions, based on orders from the Election Commission of India, to appoint BLOs for voter list verification. Following these instructions, the assistant VRO for the Ghatkopar East assembly constituency sent out official notices in June 2025. However, several teachers assigned as BLOs reportedly did not report for duty.
On August 4, the officer wrote to the senior inspector of Ghatkopar West police station, urging action against those responsible for not ensuring BLO availability, citing dereliction of duty. No FIR has been filed so far, but the letter has sparked a strong backlash from teachers associations.
Many school principals had already conveyed to the election authorities that they could not spare teachers due to acute staff shortages. “There are fewer teachers than needed to run schools properly, and teachers are already burdened with regular teaching and administrative tasks,” said Tanaji Kamble, president of the Progressive Teachers Association. He added that they had lodged a formal complaint with the Mumbai Suburban district collector against the action initiated by the local election officer.
Kamble expressed concern that despite schools informing officials about the shortage, an FIR was still sought. “This is unfair and has caused unrest among the teaching staff,” he said.
Jalindar Sarode, secretary of the Maharashtra State Shikshak Sena, pointed out that teachers already travelled long hours to reach school and were engaged in important academic work, including ongoing examinations and paper checking. “We are in the middle of the first-term exams,” he said. “Teachers are busy preparing results, correcting papers and managing post-school duties. Forcing them to leave school for BLO duties is not practical.”
Sarode also rued the fact that teachers were being pressurised and threatened with police action, creating an atmosphere of fear. “Instead of targeting teachers who are already overburdened, the government should act against officials misusing their power,” he stated.