TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: As many as 80 Flying Squads will be deployed in all 40 constituencies, talukas, districts and blocks across the State to monitor distribution of money and other gifts in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Each team comprising officers from Income Tax Department, Excise, Goa Police, Accounts and a gazetted officer holding magisterial powers have recently completed a comprehensive training in this regard.
Joint Election Commissioner Narayan Navti informed that training for most of the election officers have been completed, while the remaining will be trained by March 5. The Goa State Election Commission began various types of training sessions on February 22.
“The officers who will form flying squads have been trained in Election Expenditure Monitoring. Once dates for the LS elections are announced, the teams will operate in each assembly constituency, taluka, districts and block level, round the clock in shifts,” Navti told Herald.
Another set of refresher training for finance and other concerned officers was also carried out recently. Navti said the trained officers will be appointed as Micro Observers during the election period to check whether candidates are exceeding stipulated limit of expenditure, violating any EC model code of conduct or causing any ethnic or law and order problem.
The ongoing training session also covered an elaborate teaching for electoral registration officers, assistant registration officers, district election officers and Returning and Assistant Returning officers. “We are essentially imparting training on the rules and regulations, law governing the election and other related laws,” he said.
The electoral officers will also be training the presiding officer, polling officers and poll duty personnel, who will be stationed at 1623 polling stations. Navti informed that over 9,000 officials will be trained to operate electronic voting machines, legal skills required for further functioning at polling booths and mock polls.
