Uttar Pradesh News / Big relief for traffic violators in UP, all e-challans for five years will be waived

Uttar Pradesh News: The Uttar Pradesh government has given a big relief to the people of the state before Diwali. The Uttar Pradesh Transport Department has taken an important decision to eliminate non-tax e-challans from 2017 to 2021. Under this decision, these challans will now be shown on the transport portal in the category of "Disposed - Abated" (if the matter was pending in the court) or "Closed - Time-Bar" (if it was pending in the office and the time limit has expired). With this step, vehicle owners will also get automatic relief from obstructions like fitness, permit, vehicle transfer and High Security Registration Plate (HSRP). However, tax related challans will remain outside the scope of this relief.

The process will be completed in 30 days

According to the Transport Department, this entire process will be completed within 30 days. After this, the vehicle owners will be able to check the status of their challan by visiting the transport portal. Cases pending in the court will be recorded as “Disposed – Abated” and cases that have crossed the time limit at the office level will be recorded as “Closed – Time-Bar (Non-Tax)”. The department has clarified that this is only a closure process, that is, neither any refund will be given nor the old challans will be reopened.

More than 30 lakh e-challans affected

According to the data, a total of 30.52 lakh e-challans were issued between 2017 and 2021. Of these, 17.59 lakh challans have already been disposed of, while 12.93 lakh challans were still pending. Of the pending challans, 10.84 lakh were pending in the court and 1.29 lakh at the office level. Now the digital disposal of all these challans will be completed within the time limit. All the barriers will be removed at the front-end, while the entire record and audit trail will be kept safe at the back-end.

Important information for vehicle owners

• If your challan is from 2017 to 2021 and is still showing pending or blocked on the portal, then take the following steps:
• Check status: After a month, visit the e-Challan/Transport portal to check the status of your challan.
• Court pending cases: If your challan was pending in court, it will show as “Disposed – Abated” and all the blocks will be removed.
• Time-barred cases: If the challan was not sent to the court and the time limit has passed, it will show as “Closed – Time-bar (Non-Tax)” and the blocks associated with it will be removed.
• Tax-related cases: Tax-related challans will not be covered under this relief and will be disposed of only under tax laws.
• Help: For any help, contact helpline number 149 or visit the nearest RTO/ARTO office.

Only challans till 31 December 2021 will be waived

Under this decision, only those challans will be waived which were pending in the court till 31 December 2021. Also, the challans which were not sent to the court and their time limit has expired will also be closed administratively. However, challans related to tax, serious crime, accident or cases related to Indian Penal Code (IPC) will be out of this relief.

Transparent and safe process

The Transport Department has taken several steps to make this process completely transparent and safe. The settlement of all pending challans will be visible on the portal within 30 days. For this, a progress report will be uploaded on a dashboard every week. The National Informatics Center (NIC) is making necessary changes in the portal so that the process remains safe and smooth. Tax related liabilities, fines already deposited and court orders will remain as they are.

Transport Commissioner's statement

Transport Commissioner Brajesh Narayan Singh said, "This decision is a symbol of our commitment to lawful, public-friendly and transparent administration. Our aim is to provide citizens with a smooth, safe and respectful service experience. This step will relieve vehicle owners from unnecessary hassles and further improve transport services."