Nagpur: The Nagpur Traffic Police’s inability to recover a cumulative fine of Rs 117.41 crore from traffic rules violators over the past five years has raised questions about the effectiveness of enforcement measures. Data obtained from the Nagpur city police reveals that out of the 40.31 lakh challans issued between 2019 and 2023, only 18.38 lakh violators paid fines totalling Rs 67.18 crore.
The alarming figure indicates that 21.92 lakh violators have not settled their fines, potentially continuing to drive on city roads and posing a threat to public safety.
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Wed 18 Dec. 2024
In the year 2023 alone, traffic police personnel from 10 zones issued online challans to over 10.31 lakh motorists for violating traffic rules, averaging 2,825 bookings every day. Shockingly, only 1,93,060 violators paid fines amounting to Rs 11.06 crore, while over 8.38 lakh defaulted on traffic challans, accumulating to a staggering Rs 50.46 crore.
An in-depth analysis of the five-year data reveals a concerning trend. The recovery of fines was relatively satisfactory in 2019, with an 84.67% recovery rate when over 4.19 lakh challans were issued, amounting to Rs 11.67 crore. However, recovery declined by 29.59% in 2020, with only 70.40% of violators (5,11,904) paying fines totalling over Rs 15.82 crore. The downward trend continued, reaching a mere 52.06% recovery in 2021, with Rs 6.20 crore collected from 9.71 lakh violators.
In 2023, the unpaid fine percentage soared to 81.27%, with only 18.72% of the Rs 61.52 crore fine recovered from around 1.93 lakh traffic violators. Despite the traffic police’s efforts, including detaining vehicles and issuing summons to attend Lok Adalats, the response from violators remains bleak.
According to media reports, despite summoning a significant number of violators, only a few hundred actually appear to pay fines. The situation underscores the need for a re-evaluation of strategies to enhance fine recovery and ensure the effectiveness of traffic enforcement measures in Nagpur.
