NCP leader and MP Amol Kolhe, representing the Sharad Pawar faction, has raised allegations against the Mumbai Traffic police and state government, claiming that the traffic police in Maharashtra are being pressured for financial recovery at every signal. Kolhe shared the incident through a video on his social media platform, where he alleged that the traffic police in Mumbai have been assigned a recovery target, claiming that messages were instructing them to collect Rs 25,000 at each roundabout and take action against 20 vehicles.
The Mumbai Traffic Police has responded to these allegations, stating, "More than Rs 685 crore in fines for e-challans of over 1.31 crore violators of the Motor Vehicles Act in Mumbai city are pending since January 1, 2019. A penalty collection drive is undertaken on weekends to collect this penal amount for the government and to enforce traffic discipline among motorists who violate traffic rules. Being a responsible public representative, we are expected to seek factual information from supervisory authorities before sharing such messages on social media," Mumbai Traffic Police wrote in Marathi in the comment box of the video shared by Amol Kolhe.
Amol Kolhe’s Tweet
“In Mumbai, the female police officer from the Traffic Branch stopped the car on signal and asked the driver to pay the fine online. While inquiring about the situation, she directly showed me the message on the mobile phone - Rs. 25,000 should be collected at each signal, and action should be taken against 20 vehicles!” Amol Kohle wrote in Marathi on X.
“There are 652 traffic signals in Mumbai. 25,000×652 = 1,63,00,000/ per day, which is a whopping Rs 1.63 Crore in Mumbai alone. What about other cities? If the concerned ministers or officials disclose, the public will know whether the traffic department is being used for recovery rather than traffic regulation! Triple Engine.. Triple Recovery???” he further added.