Mumbai-Pune Expressway Sees Massive Rise in Unpaid Traffic Fines

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway, one of the country’s busiest road corridors, has recorded an enormous number of traffic rule violations since July 2024. Despite advanced tracking systems, most motorists have not paid their fines, leading to a huge pile-up of pending e-challans.

As per a report by Hindustan Times, authorities have issued more than 3.6 million e-challans, but only about 15% have been paid so far. The remaining unpaid fines amount to nearly ₹600 crore.

A transport department official said that 5.3 lakh challans have been settled, helping the department recover around ₹90 crore. He added that reminders are being sent to all pending offenders, and efforts are underway to push for faster compliance.

The violations are detected through the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), which was set up about 18 months ago. The system automatically captures speeding vehicles, while other types of violations are reviewed by officials before fines are issued.

Road safety experts say stricter action is needed. AV Shenoy from the Mumbai Mobility Forum suggested that the government should consider suspending driving licences of offenders who ignore fines, and introduce higher penalties for repeat violations to ensure better discipline on the expressway.