Chandigarh: RLA’s threat drives repeat traffic violators to pay up

A staggering ₹9.66 crore in fine has been deposited by traffic violators with five or more challans following a stern ultimatum from the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA), Chandigarh, three months ago.

At the beginning of 2025, the amount of unpaid challans in the city had piled up to around 7.5 lakh over the past three years.

Taking note of the alarming disregard for traffic laws and wilful non-compliance, the RLA, on January 20, set a 15-day deadline for violators with five or more challans to pay up or face suspension of driving licences and vehicle registrations.

This triggered a massive wave of compliance to avoid potential penalties, leading to settlement of 1.54 lakh challans in just three months—from February 1 to April 27, resulting in ₹9.66 crore in revenue for the traffic police.

In January, a total of 43,216 repeat offenders were identified and served 15-day notices to settle their dues.

The notice further warned that failure to pay within this time frame will result in the vehicle being marked as “Not to be transacted,” effectively halting any transactions related to it at the RLA—including transfer of ownership or any other service.

The warning hit the mark.

Compared to the same period last year, when just 78,093 challans were settled and ₹56 lakh collected in fine, this year’s figures reflect a more than two-fold jump in compliance and an impressive 16-fold increase in fine collections.

Meanwhile, RLA has yet to start suspending licences and vehicle registrations even after completion of the 15-day deadline.

This is mostly due to the large number of responses received from violators, some citing reasons for delay and requesting a re-examination of their challans, said officials.

In light of these responses, the department sought legal advice to ensure that any future action, including suspension of licences, will be free from technical errors. The department is currently awaiting legal advice before taking the next step.

Last year, the traffic police had collected over ₹22.69 crore in fines from traffic violators. A total of 9.68 lakh challans were issued, of which, 1,40,286 were generated during on-the-spot enforcement devices while the majority—8,28,672 —were issued using ITMS (Integrated Traffic Management System) cameras.