New Delhi: Delhi’s transport department may soon start accepting bank drafts and pay orders for its various services like vehicle registration and issuance of driving licence.
Transport minister Satyendar Jain has written to the department, asking it to provide cashless services to people. “Keeping in view the scarcity of cash due to demonetisation, please start accepting fees and payments in the form of bank drafts/pay orders also immediately for all transport related matters,” Mr Jain said in a communication to the secretary-cum-commissioner of the transport department on December 9.
The transport department already has a provision for online appointment system for those wanting to avoid queues. With the online facility, one can pay their fees online and book appointment with the zonal office in advance and bypass the long queues.
In Delhi, registration of new vehicles at regional transport offices have significantly dropped since the government demonetised the large currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations, sources said. With its plan to facilitate cashless payments, the transport department hopes to make life little easier for those planning to buy new cars.
However, the department is yet to direct RTOs (regional transport office) to accept payment of fees through bank drafts and pay orders.
In a move to “ease” the burden of Centre’s demonetisation scheme, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has rolled out a host of measures, including langars (free food) at 10 night shelters across the city.
Earlier, the Centre had asked Delhi government and BJP-ruled civic agencies to switch to digital modes of payment. Apart from the government departments, the civic agencies are also attempting to go cashless by the coming financial year.
