In 2019, Mumbai's traffic police introduced the e-challan system. Since its inception, the system has imposed fines totaling INR 579 crore. This year, the total amount imposed as of November 20 was INR 46 crore more than the previous year.
The system issued nearly 18 lakh e-challans in 2019, assessing fines of INR 59.7 crore. However, the pandemic saw a decrease in e-challans to 14 lakh in 2020. In 2021, over 37 lakh e-challans were issued, with a total fine of INR 159.4 crore. The following year saw 33 lakh e-challans. As of November 30, 2023, 36 lakh challans were issued, totaling INR 205.8 crore in fines.
The traffic department has also been trying to collect the outstanding amount of INR 685 crore from the same period. This year, at least 10,656 violators who received e-challans totaling more than INR 20,000 had not yet paid the fines.
Officials are exploring various methods to collect unpaid fines. Currently, violators are sent notices and a 15-day ultimatum. By October 30, 2,745 infringers had received letters from the traffic police requiring them to pay fines or stand a magistrate's court trial.
Last year, traffic police issued pre-litigation warnings to violators. They requested that they either pay the fine or appear in person before the Lok Adalat. This initiative retrieved approximately INR 420 crore from drivers.
Officials have noted that regional transport offices often do not have their correct mobile number or location, and registration details are not connected with Aadhaar. This makes recovering fines a time-consuming process, and licences are cancelled by local transport agencies.
The traffic department has requested that the transport commissioner's office collect any outstanding fines from individuals with more than one challan when they visit regional transport offices for various purposes.
On weekends, traffic police officers patrol the city's different intersections to check if any outstanding penalties have been unpaid by cars that stopped at red lights. It should also be noted that drivers will have the right to contest against the challan in court.
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