Rs 9,300 crore: The cost EC once pegged for procuring additional EVMs, VVPATs for simultaneous polls

For conducting simultaneous elections, the EC expected that a total of Rs 9284.15 crore would be needed for the procurement of EVMs and VVPATs, a 2015 report said.

The Election Commission had pegged the cost of procuring additional Electronic Voting Machines and paper-trail machines for holding synchronised Lok Sabha and assembly polls at nearly Rs 9,300 crore.

One of the agendas before the high-level committee set up under former president Ram Nath Kovind is to examine the logistics required for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies.

It will examine the additional EVMs and personnel needed for the exercise.

The department-related standing committee on law and personnel, which came out with a report on 'Feasibility of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies' in December 2015 had cited the suggestions made by the EC on the issue.

The report had said that the EC pointed out several difficulties which might be encountered in conducting simultaneous elections.

The main issue highlighted by it was that simultaneous conduct of elections would require large-scale purchase of Electronic Voting Machines and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.

For conducting simultaneous elections, the Commission expects that a total of Rs 9284.15 crore will be needed for the procurement of EVMs and VVPATs, the report had said.

The life of an EVM is 15 years and the machines would need to be replaced within that duration which would again entail expenditure.

'Further, storing these machines would increase the warehousing cost,' the standing committee had said, citing EC's inputs.

Two PSUs -- Bharat Electronics Ltd and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd -- manufacture RVMs and VVPATs.

While the Election Commission is mandates to hold parliamentary and assembly polls, state election commission's hold local body elections.

The EC and SECs are separate bodies under the constitution with a set mandate.