If early HO counter is pegged means cio will be applied +ve or -ve ?
Cio positive is early HO.
In above example cell A with -ve values for cell B, cell A boundary will be reduced.
Cell B with +ve CIO will increase cell boundary towards cell A.
CIO is used as well to quicken the ho decision (where it adds/subtracts an offset from the meas of the NBR cell from the prospective of the SRC cell).
I used it in the cases where I want the ho to a specific cell to happen among other cells.
First you need to drill down for the problem of your HO, too late or too early or other reasons.
Is your HO problem due to bad coverage? Loaded cell? Or maybe other cause
Then try to solve the cause first before making the CIO changes.
Change it to -ve to worsen the meas from the NBR cell in the relation, +ve to make the meas better with the NBR cell to quicken the decision of HO.
Only remember the most important Handover Parameters:
- Hysteresis
- Time to Trigger (TTT)
- Cell Individual Offset (CIO)
Nicely explained by all.
Doubt cleared. 
Thanks!!