Mumbai-Pune Expressway E-Challan System Generates Rs 269 Crore But Recovery Rate Stands at Just 9 Percent

The Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway has issued 17 lakh e-challans for traffic violations since its launch on July 19 last year. These challans, valued at Rs 269.47 crore, have seen a recovery rate of just 9% by March 2025, according to officials. Only 1.51 lakh challans, amounting to Rs 25.17 crore, have been cleared, representing 9.33% of the total amount due.

The Maharashtra government has compensated the ITMS operator with Rs 57.94 crore for issuing 8.84 lakh e-challans between July and December last year. This project is managed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) in collaboration with the RTO and Highway Police under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The state transport department contributed Rs 45 crore from the Road Safety Fund as viability gap funding for this project, which costs over Rs 100 crore.

ITMS Infrastructure and Operations

As part of ITMS, MSRTC has installed 40 gantries and numerous CCTV cameras along the expressway. The system includes speed detection cameras, ANPR, weigh-in-motion sensors, AVCC, weather sensors, a dynamic messaging system, a command and control centre (CCC), and supporting infrastructure at various locations. Traffic violations are detected by ITMS and verified at the CCC before RTO officials approve the challans.

There are provisions to issue e-challans for 17 types of traffic violations. However, most issued so far relate to overspeeding, driving without seat belts, lane cutting, wrong side entry, and mobile phone use while driving. Between July 2024 and March 2025, November saw the highest number of e-challans at 2.81 lakh, followed by December with 2.66 lakh and January with 2.56 lakh.

Challenges and Concerns

An RTI query revealed that between July 2024 and January 2025, the operator generated 18.25 lakh e-challans but only had approval for 12 lakh from RTO officials; the rest were rejected. Proctech Solutions ITMS LLP receives Rs 654.90 per issued e-challan as per RTI documents, which includes Rs 555 as their share plus GST.

An official disclosed that ITMS went live in March 2024 without prior approval of challan-generating devices under Rule 167 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989. Approval was granted later in July without technical verification by Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar.

Transport operators have expressed dissatisfaction with the surge in e-challans and urged authorities to address their concerns. Harsh Kotak from Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana stated that outsourcing road safety to private firms prioritises financial gains over safety.

Industry Reactions

Baba Shinde, a transport leader, criticised the issuance of challans for minor overspeeding violations while complaints remain unaddressed. The expressway opened in 2002 primarily serves cars, tempos, tankers, trailers, trucks, and buses; two-wheelers and three-wheelers are prohibited.

Despite repeated attempts to contact Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar for comments or responses from MSRDC via email were unsuccessful. Former transport department officials also questioned Proctech Solutions' experience in handling such projects since its incorporation in December 2021.

With inputs from PTI