Traffic enforcement in Mumbai is about to witness an enormous challenge since the amount of e-challan dues that are yet to be paid has surpassed the ₹1000 crores of mark between January 2020 and July 2025.
A query carried out by a Kalyan resident, Unnikrishnan N, under the Right to Information filed earlier revealed that, even though 817 crores out of 1,817 crores was recovered as fine, a backlog of about 215 crores in July 2025 increased at an alarming rate compared to the previous year's 685 crores, according to Mparivahan records.
Traffic authorities issued 3.2 crore e-challans in this period of five years. There have already been 795 suspensions of the driving licence due to drunk driving since April 2025 alone.
Recovery Under Pressure
Some of the measures that have been taken by authorities include publishing names of violators on the web, suspending licences, and sending constables to the houses of defaulting.
The presence of pending fines has also been given a direction in which the transport commissioner's office is supposed to recover the pending fines during transactions made to the transport office, such as the ownership transfer and renewal of fitness certificate.
Nevertheless, traffic police acknowledge that the slow pace of recovery is still characterized by a lack of adequate working force.
Experts Call for Special Traffic Courts
According to Former Mumbai Traffic Joint Commissioner, Dr. BK Upadhyay, he recommends setting up of specific traffic courts in which cases can be dealt with quickly. In case the violator fails to pay within a week, remind him or her. More than that, refer the issue to the court and complete the case within 1 month, he said, mentioning that more than 80 percent cases supported using e-challan have solid evidence as per Mumbai RTO details.
IPS officer turned lawyer YP Singh pointed out that unpaid fines are largely related to the two-wheeler riders, most of them being the delivery folks who cannot pay up easily. He made a suggestion to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to make the process of recovery of fines an easy task.
Deterrence, Enforcement and Awareness
Retired deputy regional transport officer Sanjay Sasane emphasized that enforcement cannot be solely what is required unless there is a recovery that was successful recovery. He has called for a three-pronged solution of awareness, serious punishment and publicity to curb repeat offenders.
As a result of the rising dues and the slackening since its inception, the traffic authorities in Mumbai are under pressure to curb the situation by adopting sustainable remedies before the problem intensifies, especially in cases related to e-challan Mumbai.
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