BEST BUS-DEPOTS IN MUMBAI SEIZED WITH PROBLEM OF PLENTY OF COINS
Bureau,Odishabarta
Delhi:Coins worth more than rupees twelve crores are lying packed in gunny bags under surveillance in 27 bus-deposits of Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking in Mumbai with banks refusing to deposit these coins. Not only cost is being incurred on storage and surveillance of coin-bags, but also there is an interest-loss of more than rupees 31000 daily because of cash in form of coins refused by banks to be deposited in BEST accounts.
This is the problem everywhere also including also small shopkeepers where there are reports of disposal of coin-quantity with deduction of heavy handling charges. This is in contrast with situation in earlier years when there used to be premium on coins with shopkeepers giving unwanted items like candies and chocolates in place of coins. Reserve Bank of India RBI is in full knowledge of the problem of plenty of coins with many banks including SBI, HDFC, PNB and ICICI banks refusing to accept coins as deposit in bank-accounts.
Bigger problem is of most unpopular denomination of 10-rupee coins. Rather than discontinuing minting of 10-rupee coins, 20-rupee coins are now to be forced on public. System should be that both coins and currency-notes in same denominations must not be in circulation. As such printing of one-rupee note should be discontinued. RBI and Central Government should take urgent steps to introduce plastic currency with longer life in low-denomination notes of rupees ten and twenty as was announced long back by the then Union Minister of Finance Namo Narain Meena on 12.03.2013 in written reply in Rajya Sabha. Any further minting of coins in denominations of rupees 10 and 20 should be discontinued. Surplus mint-capacity should be utilised by seeking export-orders for coins of other countries, and running mints in one shift.
Better is to mint coins only in denominations of rupees one and five. Coin-bags should be in uniform capacities of 100 and 2000 coins to be available at all bank-branches respectively for consumers and bulk-users. Input;Ms.Madhu
