Ahmedabad cops to use mobile app to penalise traffic violators

Ahmedabad: In a bid to bring transparency in the collection of fine from traffic offenders, the city police have decided to do away with the system of collecting on-the-spot cash penalty and instead use a mobile app to issue e-challans.

The project will be implemented on a pilot basis for a month starting tomorrow.

"Under this pilot project, the city traffic police will not collect cash penalty from the offenders on the spot for the next one month," an order issued yesterday by the city traffic police said.

According to the police officials, if the new system becomes a success, then it would be implemented on a permanent basis.

"Instead of the manual procedure, wherein traffic police usually issue a memo to an offender and collect the penalty on the spot, policemen will now be required to use 'ATP' app," said the order.

The police are required to take photos of the traffic offenders and upload them on the app. The ATP (Ahmedabad Traffic Police) mobile application is directly connected with the police control room, which would then generate an e-challan to that offender.

Additional Commissioner of Police (AdCP), Traffic, Sudhirkumar Desai said, "Our aim is to promote non-contact enforcement for better transparency. Instead of issuing memos on the spot and take cash penalty, policemen will now take a photo of the vehicle's registration number and send it to our server using ATP app."

"We will then generate an e-challan and deliver it on the address of that offender, who can either pay the fine online or contact a nearest police station to pay it. This drive would continue for one month, starting tomorrow," he added.

To stop lower rank policemen from penalising the offenders using memo or challan books issued earlier, all such policemen, including police constables, head constables and Assistant Sub Inspectors, have been directed to deposit their memo books at their respective police stations today.

"Only police inspectors or police sub inspectors are authorised to issue on-the-spot challans. Lower rank policemen will not carry that memo book. If this pilot project meets with success, we may take a call on implementing it permanently," Desai added.