New Delhi: Delhi government’s transport department has written to the judiciary stating that 90% of the people have not responded to challans, thereby affecting the enforcement exercise.
The department has also flagged that over 75% of the challans, which were imposed during the period when the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was enforced last year, are unpaid.
In a letter to the chief metropolitan magistrate, Tis Hazari Courts, the transport department said, “It is brought to your attention that the challan pendency status is becoming another challenge in the realm of enforcement on vehicles.”
A transport department official said the number of challans increased substantially in 2023 compared with the previous year. “However, the generated challans have not been taken to their logical conclusion, which is making the whole process ineffective,” he added.
According to transport department data, 36,225 PUCC (pollution under control certificate) challans were issued in 2023, of which 33,137, or 91%, are still to be renewed. There is a INR 10,000 fine for not having a valid PUCC.
The transport department also pointed out that several challans were reduced by the mediation agencies, making the enforcement exercise toothless.
“Among the cleared challans, 30% got reduced to less than INR 2,000, where the fine is INR 10,000 in case of PUCC and INR 20,000 for plying BS3 petrol and BS4 diesel cars. It seriously affects the enforcement exercise and campaigns aimed at reducing pollution due to vehicles,” said a senior official.
The department’s letter stated that in order to tackle the issue of pendency of challans and reduction in penalty, “the issue needs to be taken up with the higher judiciary in order to create a system of clearance of all challans related to pollution without any reduction in penalty”.
There were 1,095 challans for plying of BS3 petrol and BS4 diesel vehicles, in violation of GRAP measures, from Oct 1, 2022 to March 1, 2023. Of these, 75% are pending.
Another senior official of the transport department said the traffic police has also flagged several cases in which people have not paid online challans.
“We are thinking of making changes in the Delhi Motor Vehicles Rules, under which if people ignore multiple challans for a longer period, there would be provision for vehicles being impounded. If they still do not pay, then even registration can be cancelled,” he added.
Till a few years ago, when drivers used to be stopped for violating rules, they would give innumerable excuses, argue with traffic policemen and even escape without paying a fine. E-challans, which are contactless, are considered better as there is no room for any argument with traffic cops and violators are caught with proof recorded on camera.
Repeat offenders engage in a cycle of committing traffic violations, said the official. “They have a tendency to break traffic laws without paying the pending notices of previous violations, which compromises road safety,” he said, adding that such acts usually put the lives of other road users in danger.
