Elections to BBMP may cost Rs. 150 crore

Elections to BBMP may cost Rs. 150 crore

The Hindu

The number of wards will increase from 100 to 150

# Each ward will have an electorate of about 50,000
# The area of BBMP will increase from 226 sq km to 741 sq km

BANGALORE: The State Government has estimated that elections to Bruhut Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), when it is formally constituted by merging seven city municipal councils, one town municipal council and a village panchayat, would cost the exchequer at least Rs. 150 crore.

It has also said that once the Greater Bangalore authority is constituted, the number of wards in the newly constituted BBMP would increase from 100 now to 150 and that each ward would have an electorate of 40,000 to 50,000 people. The population, as per the 2001 Census, would increase from 43,01,326 in Bangalore to 58,10,296 in the new entity. The area of BBMP too would increase from 226 sq km to 741 sq km.

The Government has said that an Ordinance would be needed to create the new wards and that many such aspects could be undertaken only after a careful delimitation process. The work on the delimitation process has already begun and a task force set up to monitor it, and the job of delimitation has already been entrusted to a private firm. The voters' list would be prepared ward-wise once the delimitation process is complete.

According to a report, the cost of conducting elections in the CMCs would be one-third of the cost of conducting polls to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP). While the cost of holding elections would be in the region of Rs. 50 crore; it would be Rs. 100 crore if indirect and direct expenses for the polls were taken into account.

Citing examples, it says when elections to the BMP were held in 2001, more than 25,000 employees drawn from the palike, State and Union Government and State and Central public sector undertakings (PSUs), banks and insurance companies and schools were involved. The Government had to spent Rs. 3 crore to ensure that these employees were put on election duty.

Of them, 5,000 personnel had to work round-the-clock for two months to ensure that the elections went off without a hitch and that the polling then was held in 2,500 polling stations.

Apart from all these expenses, the money spent by the contesting candidates had been pegged at Rs. 500 crore.

It said that the voting would be through ballot papers and not through the electronic voting machines. Elections to BBMP may cost Rs. 150 crore

B.S. Ramesh

The number of wards will increase from 100 to 150

# Each ward will have an electorate of about 50,000
# The area of BBMP will increase from 226 sq km to 741 sq km

BANGALORE: The State Government has estimated that elections to Bruhut Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), when it is formally constituted by merging seven city municipal councils, one town municipal council and a village panchayat, would cost the exchequer at least Rs. 150 crore.

It has also said that once the Greater Bangalore authority is constituted, the number of wards in the newly constituted BBMP would increase from 100 now to 150 and that each ward would have an electorate of 40,000 to 50,000 people. The population, as per the 2001 Census, would increase from 43,01,326 in Bangalore to 58,10,296 in the new entity. The area of BBMP too would increase from 226 sq km to 741 sq km.

The Government has said that an Ordinance would be needed to create the new wards and that many such aspects could be undertaken only after a careful delimitation process. The work on the delimitation process has already begun and a task force set up to monitor it, and the job of delimitation has already been entrusted to a private firm. The voters' list would be prepared ward-wise once the delimitation process is complete.

According to a report, the cost of conducting elections in the CMCs would be one-third of the cost of conducting polls to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP). While the cost of holding elections would be in the region of Rs. 50 crore; it would be Rs. 100 crore if indirect and direct expenses for the polls were taken into account.

Citing examples, it says when elections to the BMP were held in 2001, more than 25,000 employees drawn from the palike, State and Union Government and State and Central public sector undertakings (PSUs), banks and insurance companies and schools were involved. The Government had to spent Rs. 3 crore to ensure that these employees were put on election duty.

Of them, 5,000 personnel had to work round-the-clock for two months to ensure that the elections went off without a hitch and that the polling then was held in 2,500 polling stations.

Apart from all these expenses, the money spent by the contesting candidates had been pegged at Rs. 500 crore.

It said that the voting would be through ballot papers and not through the electronic voting machines.