07 January,2015 08:14 AM IST | | Ankoor Anvekar
While Navi Mumbai is amongst the first to introduce an on-the-spot e-challan system, the technology has only increased the burden of traffic cops, who now have to register offences both digitally and manually
When it comes to tech-savvy traffic solutions, Navi Mumbai is definitely a pioneer city, being the first in the state to introduce the e-challan system last year.
Traffic units from Rabale to Kalamboli have been issued 15 nifty handheld devices and have already booked over 300 motorists in Navi Mumbai since then
Last week, it was yet again amongst the first (along with Thane) to introduce an on-the-spot e-challan system. However, sources have revealed that instead of saving the traffic department time and labour, the new technology has reportedly doubled their workload.
While the older e-challan system is based on CCTV recordings of traffic violations, allowing the traffic department to post the e-challans to the offenders, the new system will allow traffic cops to feed in the details of the violation and print out the challan on the spot.
The city's 15 traffic units from Rabale to Kalamboli have been issued 15 nifty handheld devices for this purpose, and 30 traffic officials have been trained to use them effectively. The on-the-spot system was introduced barely a week ago, at the beginning of the month, and has already been used to book over 300 motorists in Navi Mumbai.
Obsolete and redundant
However, despite the new system's launch, the older manual system of registering traffic violations is yet to be scrapped, and the department is now using both methods.
Not only do traffic cops have to digitally enter the traffic offence details into the e-challan devices, but once they are off their shift, they have to then manually rewrite all the information in the department register.
"There should be a singular method of registration of offences. E-challans have the complete details about the offence and the motorist. Despite that, the old method of registering offences has not been scrapped.
This has in turn increased our work," a traffic official said, on condition of anonymity. Moreover, the old system is now obsolete, and requires lengthy paperwork. "If a constable has booked over 20 motorists for varying offences, he has to note them all separately in different registers.
If a centralised system were to be introduced so that the data from the e-challan devices can be saved straightaway it will make our work easy and efficient," said a senior official from the department.
