Amnesty scheme may waive all pending traffic fines

Vehicle owners in the national Capital could soon get relief from years of unpaid traffic challans as the Delhi Government may soon bring an amnesty scheme to waive all challans.

The one-time waiver scheme may offer up to an 80 per cent reduction on challans to clear long-pending dues and improve revenue collection. The proposal aims to provide relief to vehicle owners by scrapping fines issued by the Delhi Police and the Enforcement Department.

Once cleared, the amnesty scheme will benefit thousands of vehicle owners registered in the city who have accumulated unpaid fines over the years due to procedural delays, non-service of notices, and pending court appeals.

Sources claimed that the proposal file has been sent to the Lieutenant Governor (LG) for approval and could be placed before the Delhi Cabinet for clearance in the coming days.

Once approved, the scheme would cover all traffic challans issued so far by enforcement agencies in Delhi. The move comes amid growing concern over enforcement fatigue and poor recovery rates following the digitisation of traffic fines and the shift to e-courts.

According to the sources, the proposal has been drafted by the Delhi Government’s Transport Department, which will offer up to 60 per cent waiver on challans issued to personal and commercial vehicles in the last 10 years, a 70 per cent waiver for Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses, and an 80 per cent waiver for all two-wheelers and three-wheelers.

According to the reports, nearly 50 million traffic challans have been issued in the past decade. However, only around 2.7 per cent of them have been realised so far, while nearly 97 per cent are still pending. The Transport Department, which issues its own set of fines, reported that of the 1.7 million challans generated in the past decade, 24.8 per cent have been paid while 75 per cent remain unsettled.

More than 22 lakh challans have been issued between January and July this year in Delhi, but only 55,000 fines have been paid.

The Government believes the amnesty drive will help clear a significant portion of the backlog while unlocking non-tax revenue.

If approved, the scheme will likely run for a limited window of 45 to 60 days, during which vehicle owners can settle their pending fines either online, through the Delhi Government’s transport portal, or by visiting designated facilitation centres.

Meanwhile, at the same time, the Government has stepped up action against pollution-related violations.

A minister said officials from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the police are deployed at petrol pumps, where cameras are being used to monitor vehicles.

First-time violators are being issued warnings, while repeat offenders face challans. Ambulances and other essential services have been exempted from these penalties, the minister said.

The amnesty would cover challans issued by both the traffic police and transport department, including violations such as PUCC expiry, overloading, wrong-side driving, helmetless riding, and red-light jumping. Serious offences like drunk driving, unauthorised driving, or driving without a valid licence will remain excluded.

As per the officials, e-challans, which provide photographic proof of violations, have improved detection but not compliance.

Many violators wait for Lok Adalat sessions, where fines are often reduced, while the absence of penalties or interest on delayed payments discourages timely settlement.