Mohali MLA seeks full e-challan revenue for traffic infra expansion
Notably, Mohali police till Monday had imposed e-challans worth ₹2 crore through the CCTV camera network and realised ₹8 lakh of the total amount from violators.
Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh has sought the full revenue generated from CCTV challans through the newly launched City Surveillance and Traffic Management System for further expansion of the project.
Talking to HT, the MLA said he had prepared a proposal, aimed at uplifting the traffic management infrastructure across the district, and will send it to the state government on Wednesday.
Notably, Mohali police till Monday had imposed e-challans worth ₹2 crore through the CCTV camera network and realised ₹8 lakh of the total amount from violators.
The sizeable number of violations, with majority pertaining to jumping the red light, driving without helmet, triple riding, driving on the wrong side of the road and speeding, reflects the widespread disregard for traffic laws in the city, resulting in accidents and traffic chaos.
“My aim is to bring 70% of Mohali district under surveillance and thus we require funds to install more such cameras to curb the road accidents and to trace the criminals. We need money for the maintenance of the cameras we have already installed and for paying bills for the internet services being used for the said project, besides installing AI traffic lights, repair of traffic lights and for maintaining the road infrastructure in the district and thus we will seek the full amount to be utilised in Mohali,” said the MLA.
Police also seek share
Meanwhile, a senior police officer said police had also raised a similar demand during a meeting with the MLA and deputy commissioner on Monday.
“We are preparing a proposal to divert a significant share of the challan revenue towards Mohali police to strengthen our surveillance and other infrastructure for better and modern policing for safety of residents. So far, the revenue is being transferred to the state transport department and gets deposited with the state treasury,” the police officer said.
The City Surveillance and Traffic Management System in Mohali, spearheaded by the Punjab Police Housing Corporation, comprises 405 CCTV cameras at 20 key intersections across the city.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann had launched Phase 1 of the project, comprising 351 high-resolution CCTV cameras at 17 critical junctions across Mohali, on March 6.
Developed at a cost of ₹21.60 crore, these cameras are being monitored at the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) set up at the Sohana police station, where 10 operators keep round-the-clock vigil on violators.
The e-challans are being sent to the violator’s mobile phone, along with photograph of the violation, similar to the protocol followed in Chandigarh.
The automated e-challan system is seamlessly integrated with NIC’s VAHAN and SARATHI databases, allowing automatic generation of e-challans for traffic violations.
