UP has the highest number of traffic violations caught on e-challan: Centre

Nitin Gadkari said the Central Government has introduced the Central Motor Vehicles (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026

Uttar Pradesh is the state with the highest number of traffic violations caught via the e-challan system and also the one with the largest pool of unrecovered penalties in the country, the Parliament was told on Wednesday.

Uttar Pradesh has issued 20% of all e-challans issued in the country and when clubbed with Delhi, the two states account for over half of all unpaid traffic fines across states. (Representative Photo/Unsplash)

In fact, Uttar Pradesh has issued 20% of all e-challans issued in the country and when clubbed with Delhi, the two states account for over half of all unpaid traffic fines across states.

Between 2021 and 2026 (till July 30), Uttar Pradesh issued 78.9 million e-challans, followed by Tamil Nadu (63.7 million) and Delhi (47.1 million). Kerala stands fourth in the list with 45.8 million, while Gujarat, fifth, issued 19.9 million e-challans.

Uttar Pradesh ( ₹113,315 crore, 25.60%) and Delhi ( ₹110,760 crore, 25.02%) are the only states to cross the ₹100,000 crore mark in unpaid dues. Tamil Nadu sits at a distant third with ₹3,601 crore (8.14%), followed by Haryana ( ₹2,620 crore. 5.92%) and Odisha ( ₹2,167 crore, 4.9%).

At the other end of the spectrum, hilly regions and island territories reported the lowest enforcement activity. Ladakh sits at the bottom of the issuance list with only 598 challans since 2021. Nagaland (1,866), Arunachal Pradesh (2,120), Sikkim (5,533), and Mizoram (43,316) also recorded relatively low numbers.

The unpaid fine list reflects a similar trend. Ladakh has a mere ₹2,500 in pending fines, followed by Nagaland ( ₹53 lakh), Arunachal Pradesh ( ₹54 lakh), Sikkim ( ₹1.46 crore), and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands ( ₹1.99 crore).

Replying to a question by MP Sanjay Seth, Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said that to tackle the growing mountain of unpaid fines, the Central Government has introduced the Central Motor Vehicles (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026. Under these new rules, repeat offenders those committing five or more offenses in a year starting January 2026 will face the disqualification of their driving licenses.

Furthermore, the reply mentioned that government is leveraging the digital link between the e-challan system and vehicle records with owners being barred from processing any vehicle or license-related transactions until their pending e-challans are settled.