Union Govt bears cost of Lok Sabha polls; UT Assembly funds expenses
Srinagar, Mar 16: The expenditure for conducting Parliamentary and Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir in 2024 touched Rs 364 crore, official documents reveal.
According to records accessed by news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the combined cost of the two elections amounted to Rs 364.57 crore. Of this, Rs 205.37 crore was spent on the Lok Sabha polls, while Assembly elections accounted for Rs 159.20 crore.
As per documents, Audit certificates worth Rs 200.22 crore have been submitted to the Government of India for reimbursement of expenditure incurred by the J&K administration on the Lok Sabha polls.
“During 2024-25, the Ministry of Law & Justice, Legislative Department, reimbursed an amount of Rs 81.19 crore to the UT Government on account of expenditure incurred on the Parliamentary elections 2024,” the document states.
As per rules, the expenditure on Lok Sabha elections is borne by the Union Government, while the cost of Assembly elections is borne by the State/Union Territory.
The election expenditure was primarily utilised for security arrangements, allowances of polling staff, transportation of election materials, voter awareness campaigns, and setting up polling infrastructure across constituencies.
It is worth mentioning that the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu & Kashmir were conducted in five phases between April 19 and May 20. Four months later, the Assembly elections were held in three phases from September 18 to October 1. (KNO)
