₹250 crore fines still unpaid on Mum-Pune e-way

transport authorities have now begun forwarding the details of repeat violators and those with significant pending dues to their respective Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) which in turn have been directed to initiate on-ground recovery of fines.

PUNE: While the intelligent traffic management system (ITMS) implemented on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (e-way) has completed its first year of operation with over 27 lakh motorists issued e-challans amounting to ₹270.47 crore in penalties for traffic violations, the compliance rate remains worryingly low with nearly ₹250 crore worth of fines still unpaid. According to the Pimpri-Chinchwad regional transport office (RTO), 27 lakh e-challans have been issued in the past one year whereas only around 1.6 lakh vehicle owners have coughed up the fines resulting in the collection of approximately ₹30 crore. The remaining ₹250 crore in penalties remains unpaid with both light- and heavy- vehicle owners among the defaulters.

Seven people were killed and three injured after the SUV they were travelling in crashed into a dumper on Mumbai-Pune Expressway. (Puneet Chandhok/HT file photo)

So much so that transport authorities have now begun forwarding the details of repeat violators and those with significant pending dues to their respective Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) which in turn have been directed to initiate on-ground recovery of fines.

Sandesh Chavan, deputy regional transport officer, Pimpri-Chinchwad, said, “The list of violators with sizeable unpaid fines has been sent to every local RTO for further recovery action. The year-long data underscores both the effectiveness and the challenge of implementing large-scale automated enforcement along one of India’s busiest e-way corridors.”

The ITMS, launched on July 19, 2024 by the state transport department, was introduced to curb speeding, reckless driving, and frequent road accidents on the e-way. The system sets strict speed limits; 100 kmph for light vehicles, 80 kmph for heavy vehicles, and 40 kmph for trucks in the ghat sections and at steep turns. Wearing seat belts is mandatory under this system. Violations detected by the ITMS are automatically recorded, and e-challans are generated and sent to the vehicle owners.

The system, operated by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) under a public-private partnership (PPP), was backed with ₹45 crore from the road safety fund. The infrastructure on the e-way includes 40 gantries and over 100 high-tech automated cameras apart from speed detector guns, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems, weigh-in-motion sensors, weather sensors, dynamic message boards, and a centralised command and control centre (CCC).

Despite the technological sophistication of the ITMS, traffic violations have continued at an alarming rate as is evident from the volume of e-challans issued. The system sends e-challans directly to the registered mobile numbers of vehicle owners. In cases involving large unpaid fines, individual data related to traffic violations is sent to the local RTOs which are now empowered to recover dues by direct enforcement.