Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Union Law Ministry has been allocated Rs 1,000 crore in the Union Budget 2024-25 to meet carry forward liability regarding charges for holding the recently held Lok Sabha election and another Rs 404 crore for reimbursement of the Centre's share to the states for issuing election photo identity cards.
Separately, Rs 34 crore has been provided to the ministry for the Election Commission to buy new EVMs and destroy the ones that have become obsolete.
EVMs have a shelf life of 15 years, following which they are destroyed as per a protocol issued by EC's technical experts.
The Electronic Corporation of India Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd are the two PSUs that manufacture EVMs. At least one ballot unit (BU), one control unit (CU) and one paper trail machine make up an EVM.
In early 2023, the tentative cost of EVMs stood at Rs 7,900 per BU, Rs 9,800 per CU and Rs 16,000 per unit of VVPAT.
States are reimbursed by the Centre for the conduct of parliamentary elections, including general expenditure and the cost of printing electoral rolls.
Over 54 crore out of nearly 97 crore voters cast votes in the Lok Sabha election, with the EC pegging the turnout at 65.79 per cent.
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