Over 11,800 pending e-challan cases settled in Thane Lok Adalat

As many as 11827 pending echallan cases have been settled by the Lok Adalat in Thane and fines of Rs 132 crore deposited in court officials said on Monday reported news agency PTIUnder the Motor Vehicles Act traffic violators are issued echallans which are sent directly to their mobile phones and cases are filed against those who ignore payments Deputy Commissioner of Police Traffic Pankaj Shirsat said reported PTIFollowing an appeal by the Thane city transport department vehicle owners were offered an opportunity to clear the outstanding finesThe Lok Adalat was held on Saturday and 11827 cases were settled and fines of Rs 132 crore were collected the official said reported PTIThe drive aimed at resolving longpending cases against motorists who had failed to pay fines imposed for traffic rule violationsThe Lok Adalat is not only a penal measure but also an awareness initiative to encourage citizens to follow traffic rules reduce accidents and avoid the burden of fines Shirsat addedMaharashtra departments default on utilisation certificates rushed spending in March CAGMeanwhile several departments of the Maharashtra government have failed to submit utilisation certificates UCs for grantsinaid of thousands of crores even as they rushed to incur a bulk of their expenditure in the closing month of 202425 says CAG reported PTIThe Housing Department figured prominently on both countsThe Comptroller and Auditor General CAG report tabled on the last day of the state legislatures winter session on Sunday stated that nonsubmission of UCs under the Bombay Financial Rules 1959 carries the risk that amounts reflected in the Finance Accounts may not have reached the intended beneficiaries reported PTIAs on March 31 2025 UCs of Rs 17731984 crore related to 52876 cases were outstanding During 202425 the government cleared UCs amounting to Rs 13722225 crore in about 40047 cases the report said reported PTIAmong the major defaulters the Urban Development Department led with pending UCs of Rs 11040 crore followed by the Planning Department Rs 5805 crore Water Resources Department Rs 3602 crore Housing Development Department Rs 2839 crore and Social Justice and Special Assistance Department Rs 2640 croreThe audit also flagged a rush of expenditure in March 2025 in contravention of the Bombay Financial Rules which advise against bunching of spending at the end of the financial year It said 18 departments incurred expenditure exceeding Rs 100 crore in March alone accounting for more than 25 per cent of their total annual spendingThe Housing Department recorded the sharpest yearend surge with 90 per cent of its total expenditure incurred in March followed by the Environment and Climate Change Department 77 per cent Planning Department 65 per cent Minorities Development Department 53 per cent and Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department 50 per cent the CAG said reported PTIWith inputs from PTI