Mumbai cops start home visits to collect pending fines

A traffic cop hands the receipt to a violator who paid his pending fines in South Mumbai

If you have a pending e-challan fine, don't be surprised to see a traffic cop at your door. On Tuesday, the traffic police started the next leg of their drive where they visit violators to recover dues. mid-day has been following the traffic police's series of actions to recover fines which run into hundreds of crores. Three days into the drive, constables have so far encountered cooperative citizens who are agreeing to pay.

The traffic police have formed 25 teams comprising two constables to collect the fines. It currently has over Rs 400 crore in pending fines.

The traffic police have made a list of more than 25,000 people having the highest number of violations and more than Rs 10,000 in pending fines each.

How it will work

The 50 constables meant to visit violators' residences have been given special training on how to approach and talk to violators. While one constable will do the talking, the other will have a body camera to record the proceedings. Constables have been told to speak and ask for the fines respectfully, address the violator as sir or madam. If any citizen complains that the constable did not speak properly, the body camera footage will be checked.

A South Mumbai resident gets the receipt from a traffic police constable after paying his pending fines

Over the past several months, many meetings were held regarding violators who refuse to pay e-challan fines and continue to break rules. The latest action comes as part of an ongoing drive where cops have also been calling violators regarding the dues from the traffic police's headquarters. The drive started materialising in November last year when the traffic police were mulling hiring recovery agents to collect pending fines. Experts, however, were against the idea and had suggested strengthening the force and collection of fines instead. In January, the police also approached the RTO to cancel the licence of those refusing to pay fines.

A traffic police officer told mid-day, "After training, the 50 constables attended a briefing by Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic) Yashasvi Yadav. Then the orders in the matter were issued."

"The order has been issued after holding discussions on the home visits with Mumbai's commissioner of police," the officer said.

Yadav said, "People who violate traffic rules are fined, but they do not pay up and continue to break rules. We appeal to the people to follow traffic rules. If traffic police come to your house to collect fines, then cooperate with them."

On Wednesday, Constable Praful Patil visited the residences of six people in South Mumbai. It was his first day on the task. When a violator claimed he had no information about the e-challans, Patil produced the receipt with the violator's car number and e-challan information and the violator agreed to pay. Patil said, "It was my first day and the six people I visited responded well to me. Another violator said that he was aware of the fines but his car was being driven by his relative when the violations happened. He said he was going to pay the money after Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. He agreed to pay up since I turned up," Patil said.

Another constable, Amit Jadhav, visited Ajit Singh's residence in South Mumbai. Singh said that he did not receive any alerts even as Jadhav had their details and the requisite fines in the receipt. When Jadhav questioned him further, it turned out that Singh had changed his mobile number and hadn't synced it with his registration details.

At Saat Rasta in central Mumbai, a constable identified as More, met a violator who refused to believe that he had ever broken any traffic rules, despite being shown the e-challan details. Then More requested the person to down the MTP (Mumbai Traffic Police) app. "The MTP app showed details of all his violations while driving his car. There was a photo on the app for every violation. He finally believed me and agreed to pay the fine," More said.

‘Paid fine, but issue remains'

Vikram Mehta, a Walkeshwar resident who was visited by traffic police on Wednesday, said the e-challan was correct and that he paid the fine. Mehta, however, added that he was not at fault as his building has no parking space. "The building does not have a parking space so I have to park on the road. I have been issued many e-challans because of this. I am going to sell off my car now. With no parking space available, the e-challans will keep piling up," Mehta said.

Another violator, Atul Goradia, a businessman residing in Prarthana Samaj, Girgaon, said, "The traffic police spoke respectfully to me. I have been using my car for eight years. But there is no parking space in my building. I have been fined for parking in a no-parking zone. Today I paid the money, but the problem remains. There is no parking facility near my residence."

Another car owner, Hussain Gohar, told police that he will pay the outstanding amount in 10 days. He was given a notice for the same. Gohar said, "My car runs for a company whose drivers drive it. I am expecting a payment in two to three days and will pay the pending fine when the money comes."