The Election Commission (EC) has sought an additional allocation of Tk 3.35 billion from the government to prepare the voter list and the national identity cards, officials said.
Some Tk 500 million has already been allocated for preparing the voter list and the national identity cards in the current fiscal year (FY), they added. Presently, information about some 102.5 million voters has been preserved in the database of the EC. Of the total, some 90 million smartcards are being prepared and distributed under the Identification System for Enhancing Access to Services (IDEA) project.
Some 12.5 million smartcards would be prepared with government's funds. Besides, over 1.69 million national ID cards would be updated in the FY 2016-17, according to EC data. In the current fiscal year, a total of 16.7 million smartcards would be distributed among the people. Some Tk 200 would be required for preparing each smartcard. Accordingly, some Tk 3.35 billion would be needed for prepare 16.7 million smart national identity cards, a high official said.
"We have sought an allocation of over Tk 3.35 billion from the finance ministry for the preparation of the voter list and the national identity cards. The EC will face difficulties if the allocation is not approved," he also said.
An official of finance division said they received a letter sent by the commission, seeking extra allocation.
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EC seeks Tk 3.35b more to prepare voter list, ID cards
Rezaul Karim | Published: November 15, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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