Jaipur: State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday allocated Rs 210.35 crore to districts for conducting Panchayati Raj elections.Jaipur received the highest share of Rs 9.7 crore, followed by Sikar with Rs 8.2 crore, Bhilwara with Rs 8 crore, Jodhpur with Rs 7.4 crore and Udaipur with Rs 7.3 crore. The funds will cover polling-related expenses, including travel allowances, vehicle hire, refreshments, videography, tents, barricading, advertisements and other election arrangements.However, the commission has placed controls on how the election budget can be spent, directing district election officers to use the allocated funds only under budget heads and within the sanctioned limits.The SEC has also directed districts to assess their actual expenditure requirements correctly and ensure that advance or accounting bills are not drawn for amounts exceeding the requirement.To contain costs, govt vehicles are to be used for election-related duties wherever possible, including transportation of polling parties, zonal magistrates, police personnel, and election material. Payments for requisitioned vehicles, including hire charges and fuel, will have to follow the rates and standards approved by the commission.The commission has prescribed similar controls for videography, refreshments, tents, barricading, lighting, and microphone arrangements.Travel allowances for polling and counting personnel, magistrates, police personnel and reserve staff are also to be paid according to prescribed norms. As far as possible, such payments are to be transferred directly to the bank accounts of the concerned personnel. Those who voluntarily have their election duty cancelled will not be eligible for TA and DA for training days.It further directed that drinking water at polling stations should be arranged only where an alternative source is unavailable, while lump-sum payments to polling parties must follow prescribed rates.All election-related liabilities are to be settled within one month of completion of the polls, with districts required to submit monthly, head-wise expenditure statements to the commission. District election officers will be responsible for any loss to the state exchequer arising from incorrect interpretation of financial rules or election instructions.
