Mumbai Traffic Police Responds To Actor And NCP Leader Amol Kolhe's Critique On E-Challans

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Amol Kolhe has criticised the Mumbai Traffic Police for their approach to traffic fine collection. Kolhe's criticism came after he was stopped by a female traffic police officer and asked to pay a fine online for his vehicle, which has 15 pending e-challans worth Rs 16,900.

In a tweet, Kolhe said that he was "shocked" by the incident and that the traffic police were "harassing" him. He also questioned the need for such a large number of e-challans.

“I experienced something very shocking. A lady police officer from the Mumbai Traffic Police stopped my car and asked to pay the fine online. While checking her mobile, I saw a message in the form of an order that said ₹25,000 to be collected from at least 20 vehicles," Mr Kolhe wrote.

He then criticised the government and the traffic police for this behavior.

"There are 652 traffic junctions in Mumbai. 25,000x652 = Rs 1,63,00,000 per day, which is a whopping Rs 1.63 crore in Mumbai alone. What about other cities? If the concerned ministers or officials disclose, the public will know whether the traffic department is being used for recovery rather than traffic regulation," he added.

आजचा धक्कादायक अनुभव-

मुंबईत सिग्नल्स वाहतूक शाखेच्या महिला पोलिसांनी गाडी अडवून ड्रायव्हरला ऑनलाईन दंड भरण्यास सांगितले. मी स्वतः काय प्रकार आहे याची माहिती घेताना त्या भगिनीने थेट मोबाईलवरील मेसेज दाखवला- प्रत्येक चौकात २५००० रूपयांची वसुली व २० वाहनांवर कारवाई झाली पाहिजे!… pic.twitter.com/TJ3oq2oSsO

— Dr.Amol Kolhe (@kolhe_amol) December 2, 2023

Following Mr Kolhe's tweet, the Mumbai Traffic Police (MTP) revealed that his vehicle has accumulated overdue fines from 15 e-challans, amounting to a total of ₹16,900.

महोदय, आम्ही चौकशी केली असुन आपले वाहन क्र. MH14 FH - - - - याचेवर दि. २८ डिसेंबर २०१९ ते दि. २ अॅाक्टोबर २०२३ दरम्यान महाराष्ट्रातिल विविध रस्त्यांवर १५ ई-चलानवरील ₹१६९००/- दंड प्रलंबित असल्यानेच आपले वाहन चालकास थकीत दंड भरण्याची विनंती करण्यात आली होती. https://t.co/QTYsusLuDK pic.twitter.com/V2bAJziSDq

— Mumbai Traffic Police (@MTPHereToHelp) December 2, 2023

The Mumbai Traffic Police also commented at Mr Kolhe's tweet by saying that "more than 1.31 crore e-challans in the city of Mumbai for violating the Motor Vehicle Act have a fine amount of over Rs 685 crore pending since January 1, 2019. A penalty collection drive is undertaken on weekends to collect this penal amount for the government and to enforce traffic discipline among motorists who violate traffic rules."

अशा प्रकारचा संभ्रम निर्माण करणारा संदेश समाजमाध्यमावर प्रसारीत करण्यापुर्वी आपण जबाबदार लोकप्रतिनिधी असल्याने पर्यवेक्षिय अधिकाऱ्यांकडुन वस्तुस्थितीची माहिती घेऊन आपण संदेश प्रसारित करणे अपेक्षित होते.

— Mumbai Traffic Police (@MTPHereToHelp) December 2, 2023

"Being a responsible public representative, we are expected to get factual information from the supervisory authorities before broadcasting such a confusing message on social media," Mumbai traffic police added.