Whopping 5.5 crore E-challan dues cleared by motorists in Maharashtra fearing Lok Adalat

Maharashtra traffic police have recovered a fine of ₹5.52 crore levied through 120,024 e-challans. Losing patience over pending e-challans the additional director general (ADG) of Maharashtra (traffic) had given an ultimatum to over 10 lakh vehicle owners to pay their traffic challan dues by Friday or present themselves before the Lok Adalat on Saturday. The amount due,  was collected from September 13 to September 20. The notices have been sent via SMS to vehicle owners’ registered mobile numbers through a link. If the challan amount is not paid before the Lok Adalat proceedings, the Maharashtra police planned to move court.

According to BK Upadhyay, ADG (traffic), since September 12, the Maharashtra traffic police had begun sending pre-litigation notices to owners of vehicles who owe them more than ₹417.41 crore in fines for traffic violations across the state. Upadhyay said that the pre-litigation notices were sent across the state and a recovery drive had started since September 13, and so far, Maharashtra traffic police have recovered a fine of ₹5.52 crore levied through 120,024 e-challans. Navi Mumbai is in second place, where 6,726 violators paid the e-challan dues worth ₹54,23 lakh. “Violators were taking the e-challan system lightly. We resorted to approach the court and collect the pending amount,” said Upadhyay. If the violators do not pay the fines, the Maharashtra Police would file a case against them in regular courts, he added. Officials said the vehicle owners who have not received the notice should also check the status of their e-challans on the traffic police website. Since June 14 this year, the traffic police had decided to send their personnel to the doorstep of violators for the recovery of pending e-challans which has resulted in the recovery of ₹1 crore.