Bengaluru: A novel idea to make the defaulters pay fines towards traffic violations has yielded impressive results in Karnataka. A day after the State government announced a 50 percent discount, motorists paid a fine of Rs 5.61 cr in Bengaluru city in a single day on Friday. In the government order, it was mentioned that the discount would be given if pending fines towards traffic rule violations are paid by February 11.
The motorists availed discount and paid Rs 5,61,45,00 fine in 2,01,828 cases till 9 pm on Friday. Out of that, 2,17,24,950 rupees were paid in police stations, 3,23,68,900 rupees through Paytm, 89,650 rupees in traffic management center and 16,21,600 rupees in Bengaluru One Center, police informed.
On January 27, the issue came up at a meeting presided over by Senior High Court Justice B Veerappa, who is also the acting chairman of the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority. They discussed the pending fine amount of more than 1,300 crore rupees. Later, the Legal Services Authority submitted a request to the government in this regard.
The State Transport and Road Safety Commissioner has given green signal for this. Accordingly, an order has been issued by the Under Secretary of Transport Department giving 50% discount. This concession has been given in the background of Rashtriya Lok Adalat which will be held across the state on February 11. The transport department has clarified that those who come after Feb 11 will not get exemption.
2 Crore Pending Cases in Bengaluru
Around 2 crore cases are pending in Bengaluru City Traffic Police Department for many years. People should utilize the opportunity given by the state government, said police officials. They advised the motorists to pay the fine amounts online or at mobile police stations to get exemption.
