Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has sought ₹200 crore to procure one lakh new electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the upcoming civic and local body elections, expected to be held by the end of January next year.
In letters sent to the Urban Development Department (UDD) and the Rural Development Department (RDD), the SEC requested both departments to contribute ₹100 crore each towards the purchase. The UDD oversees municipal corporations, while the RDD manages zilla parishads, panchayat samitis, and village panchayats.
The UDD has directed the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) to release ₹50 crore earmarked as subsidiary grants for municipal bodies to carry out local development works. Earlier, the UDD had allocated another ₹50 crore to the SEC from funds collected through cess on property registrations and stamp duty payments.
Meanwhile, the RDD has allocated ₹10 crore to district collectors across 32 districts to cover administrative expenses related to the elections.
The SEC is expected to conduct elections for 32 zilla parishads, 336 panchayat samitis, 29 municipal corporations, 248 municipal councils, and 42 nagar panchayats by the end of January — a deadline set by the Supreme Court.
