New Delhi, March 26: A parliamentary panel headed by Congress leader Anand Sharma has urged the government to expedite the process of replacing EVMs with Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), which issues receipts to voters, for greater transparency in elections and increase in voter confidence in the democratic process.

Several leaders, including BSP chief Mayawati and Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh, have demanded that the EVMs be replaced with the old system of voting through ballot papers, alleging that the machines were tampered with in the recent elections in five states. AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal underscored the need of thinking of "something different" instead of EVMs.

The parliamentary panel wants VVPATs to be introduced in all future elections. The machines, which were introduced in India in 2013, were used in many constituencies in the recent Assembly elections.

The panel also wants Aadhaar cards to be linked to voter identity cards to weed out bogus voters.

In a report tabled in the House, the law ministry-related Rajya Sabha standing committee relating to the demands for grants (2017-18) complimented the Election Commission for successfully using VVPATs in the Assembly elections.

"The committee appreciates the initiative of the Commission in introducing VVPAT in the Assembly elections in Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh and feels that the introduction of the VVPAT in all elections will bring about greater transparency in elections and increase voter confidence in them," the report said.

VVPAT is a method of providing feedback to voters using a ballot-less voting system. Under VVPAT, a printer-like apparatus is linked to the EVM. When a vote is cast, a receipt is generated, showing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate. It confirms the vote and the voter can verify the details.

"The committee is of the view that replacement of EVMs with VVPATs should be completed at the earliest so that in all future elections VVPATs can be deployed and for the purpose, adequate funds should be made available. The committee also feels that the government should ensure it is able to procure VVPATs and utilise the funds made available for the purpose," the panel said.

The parliamentary committee noted that against the projection of Rs 1609.87 crore in the 2017-18 budget for EVMs and VVPATs, Rs 1,000 crore was allocated as capital expenditure, 38 per cent less than the projection.

The committee said it was happy to know that the digitisation of electoral rolls and the use of software had helped the Election Commission to detect a large number of bogus voters in the electoral rolls in the polls in the five states.

"This is a welcome step towards purification of electoral rolls in the country. The committee is of the view that linking voter with Aadhaar card number may further help prevent bogus voters from enrolling in the electoral rolls. The committee, though is aware that the Election Commission of India and state election commissions are independent bodies, yet an initiative should be taken to prepare common digital electoral roll which could be used by the Election Commission of India and the state election commissions. This would not only save huge national resources but would also be a major step towards purification of electoral rolls," the report said.

Quoting Census 2011 and National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) figures, the panel said migrants constitute about 30 per cent of the country's population and also of the total workforce.

According to the law, migrants can cast their vote only in the constituencies where they are registered as voters.