Post demonetisation, BMC to go cashless, accept online payments only

Post the demonetisation move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for a cashless economy on Mann ki Baat last week. “Our dream is a cashless society. But why can’t India move towards a ’less-cash society’. I know you will not disappoint me,” the Prime Minister had said. [caption id=“attachment_2645330” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. REUTERS[/caption] Now, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to adopt real-time gross settlement (RTGS) as a form of payment, reported The Indian Express. Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta was quoted as saying that to maintain transparency the BMC will go completely cashless and accept only online payments. Soon, even cheques will not be accepted. “The BMC would devise a unified software and all payments could be made through it,” he told The Indian Express. While the BMC accepts online payments for property tax, water bills, octroi, it is the contractors who depend on cash payments, according to Hindustan Times. The report said that as many as 8,000 workers from 1,000 different organisations are employed by contractors.