Govt rolls out e-challan application in major cities of Gujarat

Updated on Jan 22, at 6.26 p.m.

A total of 20 traffic offences were fixed and outlined in the request for proposal (RFP).

Earlier, with 6,000 cameras already in place, the integration of AI into them will help the authorities identify and regulate 34 offences through these cameras across the city.

This decreased to the detection of only 20 offences.

Which offences are excluded from detection?

Detection of passengers on bus footboards, excessive passengers in an autorickshaw, additional passengers sitting with drivers in four-wheelers, dark films of car windows, and fancy number plates were the offences excluded from detection. Even an offence like overspeeding has been kept “optional” in the detection system.

Traffic violators will find it increasingly challenging to evade fines as the state has introduced the mobile e-challan app during the Road Safety month from Jan 15-Feb 14. The initiative was launched on Jan 16 in major cities of Gujarat including Ahmedabad under the One Nation, One Challan initiative.

“To ensure road safety in Gujarat, the government, with the help of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), has introduced an e-challan application,” said Safeen Hasan, deputy commissioner of police (DCP Traffic, East) addressing a presser on Jan 16.

Currently, One Nation, One Challan is operating in all districts of Gujarat, and detects traffic violations through CCTV networks.

The new e-challan mobile application is operational in four commissionerates, covering Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, and Vadodara. It replaces the earlier Tarkash app which was used to generate e-challans. 

The initiative aims to integrate all concerned organisations, including the traffic police and regional transportation office (RTO), on one platform to easily pay the fine of the invoice and enable data transfer on the spot.

Traffic violators from other states will be issued e-challans for all traffic violations, including driving without a helmet and seatbelt as well as wrongful parking.

The traffic violations will be detected through the CCTV network, and identification of the registration number of that vehicle will be secured from other traffic apps like Vahan and Saarthi.

The Vahan app will help find vehicle ownership details, while the Saarthi app will compile the driver’s licence details.

How does e-challan work?

As soon as any traffic violation occurs, the photograph will be directly transferred to the traffic head constable and above ranks.

Once an e-challan is generated, the same will be reflected in the concerned RTO.

Traffic police officers will be able to book violations via the e-challan mobile app, which they can pay for on the spot and online as well.

Through the app, the violators will receive an SMS from the e-challan website along with the e-challan number on their registered mobile number.

It will allow you to pay the fine within 90 days of the e-challan being generated.

If the violator fails to pay the fine during that period, it will be transferred to the virtual court.

It will then be sent to the physical court if the challan remains unpaid for another 45 days.

Once it reaches the physical court, the offender can be summoned by the court.

In case the same violation is repeated, the amount of the fine will be doubled.

Hasan said, “What is interesting about the new app is that as the e-challan will also reflect in the concerned RTO, the vehicle owner will not be able to sell or transfer a vehicle until all pending dues are paid.”

Since the app is connected with RTOs across the country, it will allow police to easily penalise out-of-state vehicles.

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