Bhubaneswar, May 17: The Orissa government will install franking machines in 120 sub-registrar offices in the state to replace the sale of loose stamps for registration purposes.

Though the government had earlier introduced the franking machine system in a few registration offices, it was not operational.

People preferred to use stamp papers bought from thousands of vendors across the state. “We have been receiving several queries from district officials,” said a finance department official, adding that the government will make it mandatory for people to avail of the facility.

Till now, government officials have been getting 40-50 truckloads of stamp paper from Hyderabad and Nasik every month. It becomes difficult for the officials to count the stamp papers manually before storing them in the state treasuries. “There is also the risk of the stamp papers getting misplaced while in transit,” said the official.

There are times when people have paid Rs 30-40 for a stamp paper worth Rs 22.