Thiruvananthapuram: For the first time in the country, electronic voting machines (EVM) are about to be used for something other than elections. State Election Commission has given the approval to make EVM voting part of the process to choose the area where smart cities project should be implemented. People of Thiruvananthapuram will get to use it on February 11 to select three geographical areas from a list of seven, shortlisted after deliberations involving the technical committee, councillors and IDeCK, the ‘Smart Cities Challenge’ consultant.
Each voter can choose one area. From the top three choices, one area will be chosen based on the most feasible of all projects, and how much it would benefit the city. After the area is chosen, there will be deliberations on which strategy can be used – redevelopment, retrofitting or green development. Public opinion will also be used to select the pan-city project. For this, people will be asked to rank issues from eight broad fields - water & water quality; sewerage and sanitation; safety and security; housing and inclusiveness; solid waste management; transportation and mobility.
EVMs will be used only for choosing the top three choices of areas. The top three choices for the pan-city project will be made through SMS voting, online voting, WhatsApp, Facebook and mobile app. All voting process will be completed by the evening of February 11, and the results will be known the next day. The State Election Commission has agreed to provide 50 EVMs and 50 personnel, according to Mayor V. K. Prashanth. There will be 50 Corporation officials. In the first half, EVMs will be set up in 50 wards, and in the second half, it will be set up in the other 50. The EVM exercise is estimated to cost around '1 lakh.
