Rs 200 crore spent on last three Delhi polls: RTI reply

NEW DELHI: Over Rs 245 crore have been spent in electing and running Delhi government over the last eight years according to documents accessed under RTI.
While the three Delhi polls--2008, 2013 and 2015--cost the exchequer around Rs 200 crore, salaries of chief minister, cabinet and legislators amounted to Rs 45.15 crore. This excludes perks like medical and travel expenses of the CM, leader of opposition and chief whip. The information was given by Delhi government and Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi in response to applicant Dev Ashish Bhattacharya.

About Rs 4.74 crore were spent on the salaries of ministers, chief whip and the leader of opposition during the last three Delhi Vidhan Sabha tenures. The General Administration Department (GAD) said that this excluded the money spent on perks and other expenses (other than the salary). In comparison Rs 40.41 crore were spent on the salary and other expenses of the MLAs during the period of the last three vidhan sabha tenures. These included medical expenses, travel and spending on electricity and water.

According to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer Rs 13.86 crore were spent in 2008 Delhi polls while Rs 17.82 crore were spent in 2013 and Rs 19.20 crore in 2015 Vidhan Sabha elections.

Data from district elec tion officers of Delhi revealed an average spending of Rs 15 crore in the last three polls. According to Bhattacharya, officers of six of the nine districts responded to the RTI query listing out expenses to the tune of Rs 108.26 crore. Using the average amount, an amount of about Rs 150 crore was spent by six districts in the capital.

Despite the significant drain on the exchequer Delhi administration has been in headlines over its tussle with the Centre on powers of police and land.