The International Road Federation (IRF), a Geneva-based global road safety organisation working towards safer roads worldwide, has written to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, expressing concern over the rising number of unpaid traffic challans across India and suggesting measures to strengthen recovery mechanisms.
In the letter, the IRF highlighted that unpaid traffic challans are accumulating across cities nationwide, with nearly five crore pending cases in the National Capital Region alone. While acknowledging steps already taken by the government—such as restrictions on vehicle ownership transfers until pending challans are cleared and targeted enforcement by traffic police—the organisation stressed that stricter and more effective recovery measures are still required.
“In India, unpaid traffic challans continue to pile up in every city. Measures such as linking challan clearance to vehicle transfer and focused enforcement are already showing improved compliance, but stronger mechanisms are essential to ensure full recovery of fines,” said K.K. Kapila, President Emeritus, International Road Federation, in the letter.
Kapila also pointed out that many e-challans are currently being quashed by courts, including Lok Adalats, due to doubts over the reliability and certification of violation-detecting Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) equipment. He noted that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has recently issued a gazette notification mandating certification of speed-detecting radars to strengthen their legal validity.
“Similar certification norms are being proposed for enforcement cameras. In addition, a uniform national architecture for Intelligent Traffic Management Systems (ITMS) is being developed to support enforcement and enable integration with multiple digital public platforms and databases for advanced analytics using artificial intelligence,” Kapila added.
“Several organisations and think tanks, including the International Road Federation (IRF), ITS India Forum, ARRI, ICAT, and civil society organisations such as the SaveLIFE Foundation, are actively urging the government to expedite the implementation of key regulatory reforms. These proposed measures include the suspension of driving licences for motorists who fail to clear e-challans within three months, as well as linking motor insurance and Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate renewals to the settlement of pending challans,” he added.
Other suggestions include Renewal of Insurance to be blocked until dues are cleared and No claim bonus can be foregone if the e-challan is pending, and Exploring the possibility with the Insurance regulator body to recover the e-challan amount from the insurance claim. Allocate negative points for traffic violations, leading to suspension or cancellation of driving licenses for repeated offenders .Allocate negative points for traffic violations and link it with insurance premium so that if unpaid for over 6 weeks the same to be charged along with premium.
Fixing the time limit for challenging e-challan A 7-10 day time limit window can be fixed. If the e-challan is contested within this time frame, it goes to legal route, else it has to be paid within a certain time frame.
