Revenue dept to introduce cashless transactions at subregistrar offices

Bhubaneswar: Revenue and disaster management department has initiated steps to introduce cashless transactions in all subregistrar and district subregistrar offices across the state, with 350 point-of-sale (PoS) machines to be installed in phases.The decision was taken at a high-level review meeting held under Arabinda Kumar Padhee, additional chief secretary of the department.The PoS machines will be provided through a major public sector bank and allotted to offices according to the volume of registration transactions handled by them in their respective jurisdictions. The department will bear the cost of procuring the machines.In the first phase, the cashless payment facility will be rolled out in registration offices in Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Sambalpur.

A five-year maintenance contract will be put in place to ensure uninterrupted service, timely repair and proper upkeep of the devices.The meeting also decided that, after approval of the govt, a standard operating procedure will be prepared for the implementation of the system. Officials and staff concerned will be trained to operate the machines and guide citizens in using digital payment modes.Officials said that the initiative is aimed at promoting digital payments while improving transparency, convenience, efficiency and accountability in the registration process.

Cash transactions will be discouraged and allowed only in unavoidable circumstances.Notably, the state govt has already introduced the registration services at all the tehsil offices across the state. This, according to the officials, has eased the burden not only for the people but also for the existing registration offices.