Traffic dept’s e-challan drive to collect fines hits a speed bump

Traffic cops check vehicles at Dahisar. File pic

The traffic department's renewed efforts to recover pending dues from errant motorists and two-wheeler users have resulted in the collection of Rs 54 lakh in the past 14 days, but it is also faced with many complaints of mistakes in e-challans.

To shore up the collection of fines, traffic officials are visiting the homes of people who have been served with e-challans, which are issued for violation of road safety rules. The department has pending dues of over Rs 400 crore.

Jitendra Sharma's scooter with a photo of Sai Baba

Ghatkopar resident Jitendra Sharma has alleged that the traffic police have sent him 13 e-challans for his Honda Activa scooter bearing registration number MH-03-CF-2972, but only one pertains to his two-wheeler.

Sharma told mid-day, "My Activa has a photo of Sai Baba in the front but in the pictures on the e-challans there is no such photo. What is surprising is that all the e-challans bear the registration number of my scooter."

Sharma has written to the department explaining the discrepancy. "Who are these people I don't know. If they ride their Activas without a helmet I get fined. These people have also misbehaved with the police and I've been sent e-challans for that," he said. He said a different person's photo is there in each of the e-challans.

Mahalaxmi resident Rajesh Daswani too is upset. He said he has a Maruti CS car but the e-challan sent to him had a picture of a bike. The reason for the fine was cited as "not stopping despite being told by the police and entering a no-entry zone". He said the bike's registration number is the same as his car.

"Two such e-challans were sent by traffic police. One has been withdrawn by them," said Daswani.

Two e-challans reached Aslam Malkani in a span of one hour. The south Mumbai resident who has a shop in Yara Market said he had gone to his shop after parking his two-wheeler in the vicinity. "I was fined for parking in a no-parking area. The second e-challan came when my bike still stood at the same place. I have sent an email to the traffic department saying that if one e-challan is withdrawn, then I will pay the other."

The picture of the bike on one of the e-challans sent to Sharma

A traffic police officer admitted to some errors creeping into the process. "Some people deliberately put fancy number plates to avoid traffic action. That leads to e-challans being raised against other vehicles at times."

Traffic Joint Commissioner Yashasvi Yadav said they will try to resolve the complaints. "We have received such complaints in which wrong e-challans have been given to some people, the vehicle numbers for which we have received complaints, all the numbers have been put on tracing by the traffic police."