Mumbai, December 10: The Mumbai traffic police has given driving licences of as many as 2,000 motorists for suspension to regional transport offices (RTO) after they failed to pay up three or more challans. The RTO can suspend their licenses for a period of three to six months at a time, or in serious cases the licences can be even revoked permanently. The vehicle owners will need to give an explanation as to why their licences should not be permanently cancelled, as per a report by the Times of India. The traffic police aims to have a recovery rate of 50 per cent in next six months, as of now they are able to recover around 30 per cent of the challans issued. Delhi Man Sets Motorbike on Fire After Being Challaned for Riding Without Helmet by Traffic Police; Arrested.

The traffic police said that it is not easy to identify the rider of the motorbike. "It is not an easy task to zero in on the actual offender since in several instances, the driver who committed the traffic violation is not the same as the owner of the vehicle," State transport commissioner Avinash Dhakne told TOI. The notices are however served to the registered owner of the vehicle."There have been instances where the addresses are vague or mobile numbers are incorrect. Recovering fines becomes difficult then," said an RTO official. Farmers’ Protest Against Farm Laws: Delhi Traffic Police Suggests Alternative Routes to Enter, Exit City.

Maharashtra traffic department plans to start a centre, where police personnel will make calls to the offenders who have failed to pay challans and provide them reminders to make the payment. A select team of policemen will also visit residences of those with a high number of pending challans to "politely" remind them to clear there dues. Officials believe that issuing e-challans would help them to catch hold on the offenders easily.

"Earlier, there used to be some cases where after a driving licence was impounded, the vehicle owner would make a false complaint with the police that his licence had been lost and would apply to the RTO for a duplicate licence. But now, all data about pending fines and driving licences is uploaded on a centralised server which can be accessed by police as well as RTOs. So, the police can verify if a motorist's driving licence is suspended or revoked and what are the fines imposed on him," the official told TOI.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 10, 2020 01:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).