Rs 2 crore from 14L traffic challans yet to be recovered across state

Over 14 lakh people are yet to pay the traffic challans issued by the police in the state. According to the police, 51,48,295 challans have been issued by the police, of which 19,39,402 were sent to the court. At present, over 14 lakh challans, amounting to around Rs 2 crore, are pending in the court.

To find out the reasons regarding the non-payment of challans, the Tourism Traffic and Railways (TTR) unit of the Himachal Pradesh Police recently conducted a survey, in which samples of 500 challans were taken from Shimla, Kangra, Mandi and Una districts.

The findings of the survey revealed that many vehicle owners had not received any notification regarding the challans due to old mobile numbers that were registered.

Many vehicle owners did not receive challan notifications due to outdated mobile numbers in vehicle registrations, while new owners failed to update vehicle details after purchasing the vehicle. Similarly, vehicle documents were not being seized in e-challan cases; people lacked awareness about the e-compounding process; no objection certificates (NOCs) were being issued for vehicles despite pending challans and some challans still appeared as pending on the portal even after payment.

Another major reason for pending challans was the absence of a system for sending regular SMS reminders after a challan was issued.

Vinod Kumar, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), TTR, said as a part of the survey, police teams visited the homes of several individuals and found out that incorrect mobile numbers and incomplete addresses were the main reasons behind the non-payment of challans. “During the survey, people claimed that they were unaware of the challans as they never received any alert message or SMS notification of the challan. Some of the violators also cited financial crunch as well as personal issues as the main reasons for the non-payment of challans.

The police have advised the people to update their correct mobile numbers and addresses in the vehicle registration database. People have also been advised to check the e-challan portal to stay updated about any pending challans as failure to pay fines on time can lead to legal complications.

Himachal Tribune