Mantralaya sources said that the state election department has decided to hold a series of meetings with the district returning officers for the safe handling of ballot papers and peaceful polling especially in the hilly and remote areas of the State. As high as 12 crore ballot papers will have to be published and transported to all 31 districts including Greater Mumbai well before the polling days.

Sources said that the Election Commission might announce its decision on clubbing together the state assembly and Lok Sabha elections by Saturday or Sunday. The state election department on Friday forwarded the Governor's decision on dissolution of the288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly to the Election Commission.

They ruled out the possibility of change in the polling dates as recommended by the State Government and coordination committee of the ruling alliance. They have demanded that in view of heavy monsoon and Ganapati festival especially in the Konkan and Western coast of Maharashtra, the polling which was to take place on September 11 should take place on September 4.

The State election department has decided to hold a series of meetings with the district returning officers for the safe handling of ballot papers and peaceful polling especially in the hilly and remote areas of the state. As high as 12 crore ballot papers will have to be published and transported to all 31 districts including Greater Mumbai well before the polling days.

The turnout during the 1995 assembly elections was higher even in the naxalite-infested Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Bhandara districts which had recorded more than 80 per cent polling. However, thedifference between the last assembly elections and the ensuing one is the season. The polling for 1995 assembly elections had taken place in February while this time voters would have to face monsoon fury or floods in various parts of the state.

The State election department has already held preliminary meeting with the in charge of seven Government press spread all over the state. The department has asked them to complete the publishing well during the deadline. ``At least 12 days will be required to publish six crore ballot boxes and thus these press have been asked to either purchase new machinery or hire from the market to avoid delays,'' sources said.

The revised rolls will be announced on July 21. In five constituencies out of the six in Greater Mumbai, electronic voting machines will be used. The process of feeding information on CD-ROMs is also nearing completion.

For each assembly constituency, there will be one CD-ROM which will have the full voter list and details of election offices, pollingbooths, police stations, necessary telephone numbers and other details. Each Lok Sabha constituency will have six such CD-ROMs.