Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has roped in transgenders for collecting pending holding tax of around Rs 11 crore from big defaulters in the Smart City.
According to sources, 10 transgenders have been imparted training in tax collection procedure with POS machines in the last three months.
Once treated as outcasts in the society, they have been aptly named as ‘Swikruti’ for this task.
Speaking to the media here on Friday, BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary said that they have been handed over the list of defaulters prepared by the ward officers and tax collectors. “It is their responsibility to start the recovery process in coordination with the local ward officer and revenue tax collector,” he said.
They will get 1 per cent of the recovery as incentive, the Commissioner said.
“They will start the recovery process from Saheed Nagar today. It is a good opportunity for them to earn a respectful livelihood as partners of BMC,” he further said.
The door-to-door recovery will be carried out by women SHGs, he added.
