Mumbaikars owe over Rs 27 crore in fines to traffic police

Information procured under the Right To Information (RTI) Act shows that Mumbai citizens owe the traffic department a whopping Rs 27.22 crore in traffic fines for 2017. The RTI was filed by Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh of Adhikar Foundation and the response shows that the Mumbai traffic police issued a total 19.52 lakh e-challans to traffic violators between January 1 and December 20, 2017, amounting to a total of Rs 51.20 crore in fines. However, only Rs 23.89 crore was collected.

“This is a huge amount and will certainly lead to losses for the state,” said Shaikh. “The bigger worry is that it will also give motorists the assurance that they can get away with not paying fines, proving that the e-challan system is failing due to poor planning and implementation.”

Of the offenders, the largest number live in the Western suburbs – 7.29 lakh e-challans were issued in the region, and Rs 9.84 crore is pending in unpaid fines. In the Eastern suburb, a total of 6.47 lakh e-challans were issued and Rs 9.20 crores of fine collection is pending. The island city seems to be the most honest traffic violator – 5.75 lakh e-challans were issues and Rs 8.17 crore is …read more