Jammu Kashmir Issues 1.54 Million E-challans in 2024, Unpaid Fines Top Rs 93.03 Crore | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir saw a sharp rise in electronic traffic challans over three years, issuing 15,44,120 e-challans in 2024 with unpaid penalties totalling Rs 93,03,17,597 (about Rs 93.03 crore), the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways told the Lok Sabha on December 11, 2025.

The figures were supplied by the Ministry in a written reply to a question from Gumma Thanuja Rani and presented by Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari. The ministry’s annexures give a year-by-year breakdown for the Union territory and explain the legal and administrative framework governing e-challans.

In Jammu and Kashmir, authorities issued 4,35,530 e-challans in 2022 with fines recovered amounting to Rs 14.34 crore and unpaid penalties standing at Rs 15.08 crore. The numbers rose sharply in 2023, when 12,38,589 e-challans were issued, recoveries totalled Rs 33.72 crore and unpaid fines reached Rs 52.41 crore. In 2024, enforcement intensified further with 15,44,120 e-challans issued, while recoveries touched Rs 41.42 crore and unpaid challans escalated to Rs 93.03 crore.

The data indicates that e-challan issuance in Jammu and Kashmir nearly quadrupled between 2022 and 2024, while both recoveries and outstanding liabilities rose in absolute terms. Unpaid fines climbed from about Rs 15.08 crore in 2022 to Rs 93.03 crore in 2024 — a sixfold increase that suggests enforcement and recovery remain challenges even as digital enforcement expands.

The ministry’s consolidated tables show large volumes of e-enforcement nationwide: in 2024 authorities issued 8,18,91,326 e-challans across India with fines recovered of Rs 38,34,84,64,291 (about Rs 3,833.48 crore) and unpaid e-challans aggregating Rs 90,97,89,52,129 (about Rs 9,097.89 crore). Jammu and Kashmir’s 2024 unpaid figure forms a noticeable share of regional liabilities reported to Parliament.

The ministry reminded MPs that electronic monitoring and enforcement are governed by Rule 167A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 (issued in August 2021) and Rule 167 which sets procedures and timelines for challan disposal. Under the rules, challans should be disposed of within 90 days unless the offence is subject to prosecution; if a challan remains outstanding beyond the prescribed period, certain licence and registration applications for the offender’s vehicle may not be processed by licensing or registering authorities. The ministry cited these measures as levers to improve recovery.

In its reply the ministry pointed to technological measures and statutory sanctions intended to strengthen compliance, electronic issuance, central rules for high-risk corridors, and administrative blocks on licence processing for long-overdue challans. Yet the widening gap between e-challans issued and fines collected in some States and UTs, including Jammu and Kashmir, suggests recoveries are lagging behind enforcement activity on the ground.