Conducting the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the next six months will cost the cash-strapped Maharashtra government at least Rs1,754 crore.
The state has made a provision for the funds – Rs 841 crore for the Lok Sabha polls and Rs 913 crore for Assembly polls – in the interim budget which was passed in both the houses last month. The budgetary allocation for the two polls in 2014 was Rs 793 crore (Rs 372 crore for Lok Sabha and Rs 421 crore for Assembly), while the expenditure eventually rose to Rs 1,330 crore – Rs 650 crore for Lok Sabha and Rs 680 crore for Assembly – according to officials from the state arm of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
This year, too, the expenditure is likely to rise, according to an official.
The Rs 1,754-crore provision is only for conducting elections. The government has made another provision of Rs 334 crore for other recurring expenditures, such as salaries of staff, publicity and propaganda and enrolment drive. The Centre reimburses the expenditure for the Lok Sabha elections to the state in due course. The expenditure on Assembly elections is, however, borne by the state government.
The rise in the expenditure has been attributed to introduction of voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT).
“With the introduction of VVPAT, which takes more time to complete the voting process, we have reduced the number of voters per polling booth, thus leading to an increase in the number of booths. We will have about 1 lakh polling booths, from about 87,000 five years ago. Although VVPATs are provided by the Centre, recurring expenditure such battery and paper roll, which costs Rs1500 each, has to be borne by the state. We will use more than 1.30 lakh VVPATs in the Lok Sabha elections,” said the official.
Sharad Kumar, state coordinator, Association for Democratic Reforms, said, “The expenditure is inevitable. If all elections are held simultaneously, the expenditure could see a steep drop.”
{{/usCountry}}Sharad Kumar, state coordinator, Association for Democratic Reforms, said, “The expenditure is inevitable. If all elections are held simultaneously, the expenditure could see a steep drop.”
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