Project to procure EVMs added to FY23 ADP

The Planning Commission has added the Election Commission’s project for procuring two lakh electronic voting machines (EVMs) for holding the next general elections to the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the 2022-23 fiscal year as a new unapproved project.

“We have included the election commission’s project on procuring EVMs in the ADP for FY 2022-23 as it’s a massive project. The executive committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) cannot approve any project unless it is included in the ADP,” additional secretary Md Sayduzzaman told The Business Post on Tuesday.

He said after inducting the project into the ADP, the Planning Commission will start processing the project for placing before the ECNEC.

Earlier, the EC had sent a Tk 8,711 crore project for buying EVMs to use in at least 150 constituencies in the next general election. The EC wants to buy two lakh new EVMs, each costing Tk 3,05,000.

The Planning Commission, on November 9, sent the project back to the EC raising several issues. They asked the EC to revise the project and submit a fresh DPP.

The letter followed a directive of the prime minister at the November 8 meeting of the ECNEC where she instructed all to remain careful in spending public money in view of the global economic crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and the pandemic.

The Planning Commission in the letter also suggested the EC discuss the issue of the project’s funding with the Finance Division and specify the detailed procurement process in the development project proposal.

The EC is yet to respond to the letter.

The letter also recommended that the EC can hire instead of buying four SUVs and 534 double cabin pickups for carrying EVMs to the polling centres.

The letter also said the Planning Commission inducted the EVM procurement project into the ADP following a recommendation from a special meeting of the inter-ministerial committee held on October 26.

The commission also suggested rearranging the entire spending programme.

The EC’s project also includes the expenses of training personnel for operating the EVMs.

The Planning Commission asked the EC to send the revised project to the Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) for the ECNEC’s approval.

The EC plans to build 10 warehouses under the project, said officials.

According to the Planning Commission’s guidelines on development project formulation, processing, approval and revision, conducting a feasibility study is mandatory for any project costing Tk 50 crore or above. But there is no feasibility study of the EVM projects.