Mumbai: Candidates contesting the BMC election must maintain daily accounts of their election expenditure from the date of filing of nomination papers, with a standard rate card now in force, said civic officials on Thursday. The spending limit has been set at Rs 15 lakh.Assistant commissioner (assessment and collection) Gajanan Bellale said the measure is aimed at ensuring transparency and preventing financial irregularities during the election process. He was speaking at a meeting of ward-wise election expenditure monitoring teams held at the BMC headquarters.
As part of the expenditure oversight mechanism, monitoring teams will track spending on campaign-related activities such as public meetings, rallies and promotional events. Accounts officers have been directed to maintain detailed records in prescribed formats and flag any suspicious transactions for immediate action.Officials said the meeting reviewed the functioning of expenditure observers, accounting teams, flying squads and video surveillance units, which will jointly monitor compliance with spending limits and Election Commission guidelines. Departments have been instructed to work in coordination to ensure a transparent and impartial poll process.Under guidelines issued by the State Election Commission on February 15, 2024, candidates are required to route all election-related expenses through a separate bank account. Details of funds received—whether personal contributions, party funds, donations or loans—must be disclosed in Form 1, while expenditure details must be submitted in Form 2.Candidates are also required to file an affidavit in Form 3 within 30 days of the declaration of results. A rate card based on prevailing local prices has been prepared for commonly used campaign materials, and candidates will be issued an acknowledgement in Form 4 after submitting their expense accounts.The BMC said the tightened monitoring framework is intended to curb illegal spending and ensure adherence to expenditure limits during the civic polls.
