E-Paper
Traffic police recover ₹17 crore in fines from 12.4 lakh motorists via Lok Adalat
Mumbai Police recover ₹17 crore fines from 12,41,617 motorists at Lok Adalat. Slow but effective process aims to enforce discipline and improve road safety.
Mumbai: The Mumbai Traffic Police have recovered ₹17 crore in fines from 12,41,617 errant motorists after approaching the Lok Adalat on Saturday.
According to traffic police officers, 1,241,617 cases of pending e-challans were settled by Saturday as motorists feared appearing before the Lok Adalat. In the last 15 days, traffic police officials had sent pre-litigation notices to drivers with outstanding fines. Out of the pending challans, ₹17,47,05,650 was recovered.
“The response is slow, but in the past year and through five Lok Adalat sessions, ₹420 crore in e-challans have been paid, achieving a recovery rate of 50% of the total pending challans since 2016, which amounted to ₹978 crores,” said a traffic police officer.
Traffic police officials mentioned that while Lok Adalats have been effective in fine recovery, the process is relatively slow. The primary objective of recovering fines is to enforce discipline among motorists, which would lead to better traffic conditions in the city and help reduce road fatalities.
In September 2021, the state highway police approached the Lok Adalat by serving pre-litigation notices via text message to motorists with long-pending dues. By 2023, traffic police across Maharashtra had served pre-litigation notices to the owners of over one crore vehicles found violating traffic rules.
Following a High Court order, the traffic police began sending pre-litigation notices, asking motorists to pay their pending e-challans or appear before the Lok Adalat to settle their dues. Motorists receive a text message with a link to download the notice in PDF format. Vehicle owners who do not appear before the Lok Adalat face court prosecution and higher fines.
