Traffic violators started receiving real-time challans starting Friday

Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) had installed 315 red light violation detection (RLVD) cameras at 28 locations across the city.

Gurugram Traffic Police on Friday issued 30 real-time challans from three locations, Galleria Market, Bakhtawar Chowk and Iffco Chowk Metro station. This was the first time that the process of issuing traffic challans was automated in the city.

Traffic on the city's roads on a hazy day in Gurugram. (Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times)

Police said they will expand to 10 more locations by the end of the month.

In December, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) had installed 315 red light violation detection (RLVD) cameras at 28 locations across the city.

Sanjeev Balhara, assistant commissioner of police (traffic), said one RLVD camera atop traffic signal could capture an entire intersection and detect wrong side driving and spot red light violations. “With the help of integrated command and control system (ICCC), cameras are linked to the traffic signals, with light sensors detecting the changes,” he said.

Balhara said the violators would receive instant text messages. On Friday, four traffic violations, wrong side driving, red-light jump, driving without a helmet and speeding, were in focus. The camera switches on as soon as the traffic light turns red and the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system will capture violators and send it to the ICCC command centre in Sector 44.

Police said a copy of the challan along with the violation evidence would be sent to the registered address of the vehicle owner within two days.

Trials of the new system held in February and Marchwas a resounding success following which the system was approved for deployment, said police.

Balhara said the plan was to deploy the systems at 28 locations but due to ongoing construction of underpass and flyovers, only 13 locations are equipped with ANPR cameras that can identify the four violations. “Once the cameras detect high-security number plates, data will be transferred over the optical fibre network and will be sent to the ICCC,” he said.

A team of 10 traffic policemen at the ICCC monitor the feed and challans are generated automatically. Data on the offending vehicle owners are accessed from the ministry of road transport’s national database Vahan.

KK Rao, commissioner of police, said the exercise will also help to keep a watch on street crime and offenders involved in snatching cases. “The policemen keeping a watch from ICCC informs the local police control room van and rider after he witnesses any suspicious activity at any intersections,” he said.