Gurugram traffic police campaign shortlisted for SKOCH Award

“Challan Nahi, Salaam Milega” promotes rule following through recognition of disciplined drivers and use of ANPR cameras to identify “Traffic Heroes”.

The Gurugram traffic police’s road safety campaign “Challan Nahi, Salaam Milega” (No Challan, Only Salute) has been shortlisted for the SKOCH Award, officials said, recognising the initiative’s approach of promoting responsible driving through awareness rather than penalties.

Gurugram traffic police initiative promotes responsible driving through recognition instead of penalties; ceremony on March 28 in Delhi. (HT Archive)

According to an official communication dated March 11, the campaign, also referred to as “Drive Right Shine Bright (Challan Nahi Salam Milega)”, has completed all evaluation stages under the SKOCH governance and public service recognition programme.

The award ceremony will be held during the 106th SKOCH Summit on March 28, 2026, at Silver Oak Hall, India Habitat Centre, in New Delhi, where the Gurugram traffic police team has been invited.

The SKOCH Award follows a multi-stage independent evaluation process that includes review of project documentation, presentations before a panel of experts, and public voting on the SKOCH platform. According to the communication issued by the SKOCH Group, the Gurugram traffic police initiative successfully cleared all stages of the evaluation. The process assesses projects on parameters such as innovation in governance, scalability, impact on public service delivery, and measurable outcomes before final shortlisting for the award.

Dr Rajesh Mohan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said the programme aims to create a positive behavioural shift. “The initiative also uses technology such as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to identify drivers who consistently follow traffic rules. These drivers are then recognised as ‘Traffic Heroes’,” he said.

The campaign encourages compliance with traffic rules by recognising disciplined drivers who follow norms such as wearing helmets and seatbelts, maintaining lane discipline and stopping at signals, traffic officials said.

Since the launch of the campaign, 14 disciplined drivers have been identified and recognised as “Traffic Heroes” for consistently adhering to traffic rules, including maintaining lane discipline, wearing helmets and seatbelts, and stopping at traffic signals, officials said.

The “Challan Nahi, Salaam Milega” campaign was launched on June 10 last year and has since been implemented across major intersections and high-traffic zones in Gurugram. Over the past 10 months, the traffic police have conducted several awareness drives, recognised disciplined drivers, and encouraged citizens to volunteer as “Traffic Mitras” to support road safety initiatives.