Expenditure observers to keep tabs on poll spending in city

Six officials will study previous election malpractices and assess rates for various activities

Police and CRPF personnel undertaking vehicle checks on ECR ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Monitoring of election expenditure in the three Parliamentary constituencies and Perambur Assembly constituency in the city is set to intensify with the arrival of six expenditure observers from the Election Commission of India on Tuesday.

Starting Tuesday, these six senior officials of the Indian Revenue Services would assess the election expenditure made by candidates in Chennai district, setting the tone for prevention of corrupt practices in ‘expenditure sensitive’ areas.

They would study all aspects of corrupt practices adopted by candidates in previous elections in areas such as RK Nagar and suggest measures to prevent such modes of distribution of cash to electors ahead of elections.

Some residents had reportedly protested in RK Nagar a few days ago, claiming that they received ₹20 currency notes ahead of the previous byelection. The Chennai District Election Officials are expected to facilitate the assessment of the situation by the observers in such areas. “The observers are expected to remain in the city for three days,” said an official.

“Bank officials have been directed to start tracking suspicious transactions over ₹10 lakh in the district,” said the official. Video surveillance teams have been stationed at the four locations where candidates would file their nominations.

The office of the Returning Officer of Chennai North has been set up in Corporation Regional Office in Basin Bridge. The Chennai Central Returning Officer will accept nominations in Corporation Regional Office in Shenoy Nagar. The Chennai South Returning Officer will accept nominations at the Regional Office in Adyar. The candidates for Perambur Assembly constituency will file nominations in Krishnamurthy Salai, Sharma Nagar, Perambur.

The expenditure observers would check the preparedness of the expenditure monitoring team and make suggestions for improvement, indicating areas of concerns ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The observers would also screen the permission letters given for deploying vehicles for public meetings, rallies and processions and the impact of the video surveillance team, accounting team and media monitoring team, officials said.

The expenditure observers would also check the prevailing rates in the district for printing of material, hiring of vehicles, loud speakers, cost of erecting pandals and hiring of furniture.