Rajkot: Gujarat Launched the ambitious e-invoicing project five years ago to eliminate human intervention in the traffic penalty process and make it hassle-free like in the West.
However, over the years, a staggering lapse of over Rs 500 crore in fine collections has not only deflated the project, but left itself on the verge of burnout.
Sadly, the whole system has proved to be ineffective as the police have no mechanism to nab the defaulters and pay them the amount. The data shows that in major cities of the state, 85% to 90% of traffic violators have not paid the e-challan amount.
The city of Rajkot started issuing e-challans in September 2017. As per the traffic police data till date, a total of 23.27 lakh e-challans have been issued so far, out of which Rs 26 crore has been collected as fine, while Rs 147.58 crore is remaining. unpaid.
Speaking with TOI, a senior traffic police officer said, “There is no mechanism to collect the fine. In many cases, RTOs do not have proper address of errant vehicle owners and often the mobile numbers of these defaulters are with us. Again, we don’t have enough staff to do door-to-door collection of dues.”
Traffic department lacks mechanism to follow up on defaulters
Around 500 cameras installed on the public roads of Rajkot automatically issue challans for every red light violation through a high security number plate installed in the vehicle which helps in identifying the vehicle owners. For other traffic offenses including overcrowded driving, wrong side driving etc., the control room monitors the main roads during peak hours and takes photographs of such violators.
Since the introduction of e-memos by Diamond City, challans worth Rs 139 crore have been deducted for issuance of e-challans through 100 cameras installed on heavy traffic roads in the city. Across the city, 720 cameras monitor traffic on the streets.
However, the department has so far been able to recover only Rs 20 crore as fine.
Surat Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Prashant Sumbe told TOI, “E-challans are sent through speed post and in many cases vehicles are registered with temporary addresses which are not updated with RTO records. In some cases, the vehicle turns three. Or four hands and the person receiving the e-challan simply ignores it.”
The police suggested getting the mobile numbers of the vehicle owners so that the software can automatically generate a text message alert whenever the e-challan is issued. It will also help the police to contact the offender and collect the fine. According to sources, the police conduct vehicle checking drives at random to find out if there are any dues. But, in many such cases, the owners express their inability to pay the amount, especially if it is huge.
Similar is the case with Ahmedabad, where a fine of Rs 198 crore is yet to be collected. The city has been issuing e-challans since September 2015 for traffic offenses caught in 5,000 cameras installed across the city.
According to the data of the city traffic police, 72.54 lakh traffic e-challans have been issued so far, in which a fine of Rs 253 crore has been imposed. Out of this, only Rs 54.47 lakh fine was collected for 21.41 lakh e-challans. By March 1, 2022, the city’s traffic police had to recover Rs 198 crore for 51.12 lakh e-challans.
The traffic police of the city conducts campaigns from time to time to recover the dues. A traffic department official said, “On Monday, we conducted a drive and collected a fine of Rs 3.84 lakh from 654 traffic offenders.”
The Vadodara Traffic Police is yet to recover a fine of Rs 104 crore from the e-invoices of Rs 127 crore issued by the city. Police said over Rs 23 crore have been paid by traffic offenders, taking a total of 28,66,663 e-challans issued. Out of this, only 6,35,166 e-memos have been paid. The traffic police said that while it has conducted some drives in the past to recover the fine amount, the pace of collection has been slowed down by the pandemic.
(With inputs from Ashish Chauhan in Ahmedabad, Mehul Jani in Surat and Tushar Tere in Vadodara)
However, over the years, a staggering lapse of over Rs 500 crore in fine collections has not only deflated the project, but left itself on the verge of burnout.
Sadly, the whole system has proved to be ineffective as the police have no mechanism to nab the defaulters and pay them the amount. The data shows that in major cities of the state, 85% to 90% of traffic violators have not paid the e-challan amount.
The city of Rajkot started issuing e-challans in September 2017. As per the traffic police data till date, a total of 23.27 lakh e-challans have been issued so far, out of which Rs 26 crore has been collected as fine, while Rs 147.58 crore is remaining. unpaid.
Speaking with TOI, a senior traffic police officer said, “There is no mechanism to collect the fine. In many cases, RTOs do not have proper address of errant vehicle owners and often the mobile numbers of these defaulters are with us. Again, we don’t have enough staff to do door-to-door collection of dues.”
Traffic department lacks mechanism to follow up on defaulters
Around 500 cameras installed on the public roads of Rajkot automatically issue challans for every red light violation through a high security number plate installed in the vehicle which helps in identifying the vehicle owners. For other traffic offenses including overcrowded driving, wrong side driving etc., the control room monitors the main roads during peak hours and takes photographs of such violators.
Since the introduction of e-memos by Diamond City, challans worth Rs 139 crore have been deducted for issuance of e-challans through 100 cameras installed on heavy traffic roads in the city. Across the city, 720 cameras monitor traffic on the streets.
However, the department has so far been able to recover only Rs 20 crore as fine.
Surat Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Prashant Sumbe told TOI, “E-challans are sent through speed post and in many cases vehicles are registered with temporary addresses which are not updated with RTO records. In some cases, the vehicle turns three. Or four hands and the person receiving the e-challan simply ignores it.”
The police suggested getting the mobile numbers of the vehicle owners so that the software can automatically generate a text message alert whenever the e-challan is issued. It will also help the police to contact the offender and collect the fine. According to sources, the police conduct vehicle checking drives at random to find out if there are any dues. But, in many such cases, the owners express their inability to pay the amount, especially if it is huge.
Similar is the case with Ahmedabad, where a fine of Rs 198 crore is yet to be collected. The city has been issuing e-challans since September 2015 for traffic offenses caught in 5,000 cameras installed across the city.
According to the data of the city traffic police, 72.54 lakh traffic e-challans have been issued so far, in which a fine of Rs 253 crore has been imposed. Out of this, only Rs 54.47 lakh fine was collected for 21.41 lakh e-challans. By March 1, 2022, the city’s traffic police had to recover Rs 198 crore for 51.12 lakh e-challans.
The traffic police of the city conducts campaigns from time to time to recover the dues. A traffic department official said, “On Monday, we conducted a drive and collected a fine of Rs 3.84 lakh from 654 traffic offenders.”
The Vadodara Traffic Police is yet to recover a fine of Rs 104 crore from the e-invoices of Rs 127 crore issued by the city. Police said over Rs 23 crore have been paid by traffic offenders, taking a total of 28,66,663 e-challans issued. Out of this, only 6,35,166 e-memos have been paid. The traffic police said that while it has conducted some drives in the past to recover the fine amount, the pace of collection has been slowed down by the pandemic.
(With inputs from Ashish Chauhan in Ahmedabad, Mehul Jani in Surat and Tushar Tere in Vadodara)