The point of sales (POS) machines used to collect parking fees will soon be used to generate receipts for cash payments, Debashis Kumar, the mayoral council member in charge of parking at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said on Tuesday.

Using POS machines for cash payment is not allowed now.

A KMC official said the proposal to use POS machines to issue receipts for cash payments have to be passed by the mayoral council.

"The approval is likely to be a formality," the official said.

Kumar said the KMC would introduce the cash payment option because elderly people, as well as many others, are unwilling or unable to do electronic payments. The machines will issue receipts while the attendants will collect the cash.

Kumar also said POS machines are now being used in more parking bays than before and urged citizens to complain to the KMC if attendants refuse to use the tools.

"We have decided to introduce the cash payment option in the POS machines. The machines have to be reconfigured for that as there is no option for cash payment," Kumar told Metro.

The system of collecting parking charges with POS machines was introduced in April last year, but there were few takers till chief minister Mamata Banerjee highlighted the issue of illegal parking in a meeting last month.

Following the meeting, the KMC asked all agencies managing parking bays to use POS machines.

KMC sources said POS machines would eliminate, or at least reduce, overcharging by parking attendants. A machine generates a slip of paper when a car enters the parking bay. The slip is handed to the car's owner or driver.

When the car exits, another slip is generated by the machine. Apart from the car's registration number, the time of entry and exit and the amount to be paid will be mentioned in it.

"The POS machine auto-calculates the amount to be paid based on the duration of parking and the KMC's parking rates," said an official of the civic body.

The KMC's parking rates are Rs 10 an hour for four-wheelers and Rs 5 an hour for two-wheelers from 7am till 10pm.

KMC sources said there is much confusion now because cash payments through POS machines are not allowed yet but the civic body insists on collecting parking fees only through POS machines.