NEW DELHI: Having trouble paying traffic challans online? Delhi Police will soon be setting up collection counters on weekends for smooth disposal of challans to take the load off its website.
Though the plan is at an initial stage, it is likely to be implemented from next week. Several people had taken to Twitter to complain about server issues.
The counters would be set up in the offices of the 11 traffic ACPs. “The plan has been finalised, but approval by senior officers is awaited. We wanted to begin operations this week, but it has now been postponed to next week. For now, there will be two counters at each ACP office. For disposal of more challans, we are planning to start the facility in traffic circles too,” said a senior traffic officer.
The officer added that they had received complaints from people claiming they couldn’t pay the fines as the server was down. “At the counters, challans can be paid through cash or card.”
In February, Delhi Traffic Police in coordination with Delhi State Legal Services Authority had organised a Lok Adalat for settlement of dues and issues, but it had turned chaotic after several people were forced to wait outside in long queues. Many senior citizens had to return as no Covid-19 norms were being followed. Around 80 lakh challans needed to be settled, but only about 1,58,000 were taken care of during the Lok Adalat.
The annual data of prosecutions in 2020 showed that traffic police had collected Rs 235 crore as fines compared with around Rs 188 crore in 2019, a rise of 24%. The increase was seen despite traffic restrictions being in place during the lockdown. Though there has been a dip in violations this year, collection has gone up as fine amounts have increased after implementation of the amended Motor Vehicle Act.
In April last year, 31 challans were issued for riding without a helmet. May and June saw zero violations for improper parking, riding without helmet, stop line, one-way and not carrying pollution certificate. In July, there were 14,769 violations, but by October they rose to 81,625. Around 49 lakh notices for speeding have been issued this year compared with nine lakh last year.