BMC coughs up Rs12 cr for polls

Spends Rs14 per voter across wards
Sharad Vyas

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has spent about Rs12 cr to set
up booths, pamphlets and voting lists for the polls on Thursday. It also
works out to Rs14 for every registered voter in the city.

"Though we have spent Rs12 cr on election work, the actual expenditure will
be much higher once the entire exercise is over," said BR Marathe, deputy
BMC election commissioner (election). In the last 2002 elections, only 42
per cent of residents cast their votes.

On Wednesday, the civic body carried out a trial run to inspect the polling
apparatus. For the first time, an LCD screen worth Rs1 cr will be stationed
outside the BMC head office near Victoria Terminal to provide information
about the six-round counting exercise on Friday. The Control Room will make
sure that the polling process runs smoothly. The civic body has issued
10,500 electronic voting machines (EVM) across the city. Each EVM can
accommodate names of 16 candidates.

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