SEC ups expenditure limit to Rs 10 lakh for BMC contestants

Mumbai: The State Election Commission has increased the expenditure limit to Rs 10 lakh for candidates contesting the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. While those contesting the Zilla Parishad elections, the expenditure limit is Rs six lakh, State Election Commissioner J S Saharia said in a statement here today. He said the limit for Municipal Corporations is between Rs five and Rs ten lakh, while for Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samitis it is Rs 6 lakh and Rs 4 lakh.

"For Mumbai, the expenditure limit is Rs 10 lakh while for the rest it will be based according to the number of seats in the civic body," he said. Saharia informed that earlier, for "A" Class corporations, the limit was Rs 5 lakh; for B and C class civic bodies it was Rs 4 lakh and D class it was Rs 3 lakh. For Zilla Parishads, it was Rs 4 lakh and Panchayat Samitis it was Rs 3 lakh. As per the revised limit, the expenditure for Mumbai and those civic bodies with 151 to 175 members, the limit will be Rs 10 lakh. For civic bodies with members between 116 and 150, the amount is Rs 8 lakh and between 85 and 115 it is Rs 7 lakh.

For 65 to 85 member civic bodies, the expenditure limit is Rs 5 lakh, he said. For Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis coming under a particular ZP jurisdiction, he said that for ZPs with 71 to 75 members, the expenditure limit is Rs six lakh and Rs four lakh for Panchayat Samitis. Those ZPs with election wards between 61 and 70, the expenditure limit is Rs five lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh for Panchayat Samitis. Whereas for those with 50 to 60 election wards, Rs four lakh for Zila Parishads and Rs three lakh for Panchayat Samitis, he said.