Low Fine Recovery From Mumbai-Pune Expressway E-Challans

The Maharashtra Transport Department has revealed that 27.76 lakh e-challans worth Rs 4.7 billion were issued for traffic violations on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway since the rollout of the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) in July 2024. However, only Rs 470 million in fines—around 10 per cent of the total—has been recovered to date.

Breakdown of Violations

Official data shows that cars were responsible for the majority of speed limit breaches, with over 17.2 lakh e-challans issued. Heavy goods vehicles accounted for 3.27 lakh challans, heavy passenger vehicles such as buses for 2.48 lakh, taxis for 2 lakh, and light goods carriers for 1.2 lakh. Medium goods vehicles were booked 85,468 times, articulated heavy goods vehicles 30,450 times, and medium passenger buses 14,764 times.

Implementation and Funding

The ITMS, which employs high-resolution cameras and AI-based detection, aims to enhance compliance and reduce accidents along the 95-km expressway. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has installed 40 gantries and hundreds of CCTV cameras as part of the system. The project cost exceeds Rs 1 billion, with Rs 450 million provided as viability gap funding from the Road Safety Fund.

Verification Process

Under the system, violations are flagged by the ITMS and verified at the Command Control Centre before being approved by Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials. The Khandala ghat section, a 10-km stretch of the expressway, has been identified as a hotspot for overspeeding violations. Transport operators have called for an increase in the speed limit in this section.

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