The state government has agreed to allocate Rs 90 crore to effectively implement its ‘one state, one e-challan’ project.
Maharashtra was one of the first states to introduce e-challans in October 2016 to ensure better road safety standards. It became fully operational within a year. Anyone found guilty of breaking traffic rules is issued an e-challan ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 based on the severity of violation.
While introducing the system, the police had claimed that all transactions would be cashless and the violators would get the challan on their mobile phones, and neither the vehicle nor any documents would be confiscated as the record of the fine would be maintained.
The ‘one state, one e-challan’ proposal was introduced a year later in 2018 to streamline collection of fines from violators. It was to be rolled out in a phased manner in five police commissionerates – Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Nagpur – with one company responsible for collection.
Considering the exponential rise in the number of vehicles across the state, and the resulting traffic-related problems, the traffic police continue to be strained in the process of extracting fines. To take effective and transparent action, the state government had earlier granted administrative approval for Rs 59 crore.
Recently, a high-power committee constituted for its implementation communicated the need for additional funds for effective operations and maintenance. The network involves CCTVs (linked with the e-challan system) installed across the state.
A project implementation committee has also been constituted under the leadership of additional director general of police (traffic) to monitor and enforce the project.
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