Lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday raised concerns about the effectiveness of the e-challan system and the behavior of traffic wardens, urging the government to address the growing number of citizen complaints.
Ruling party MPA Amna Parveen highlighted that many citizens are unaware of their challans until stopped at checkpoints. She said motorists often learn of 15 to 20 pending challans during roadside inspections and face threats of vehicle impoundment from wardens.
In response, Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman said the Punjab Safe Cities Authority is responsible for issuing e-challans. He noted that the notices are sent through various channels, including post and WhatsApp, within seven days, provided the address is correct. He acknowledged that issues are more common with motorcycles due to irregular ownership transfers.
“If the law does not allow vehicles to be impounded solely due to unpaid challans, we will ensure that it is enforced. Citizens should be given one or two days to pay the fine,” he added.
Opposition MPA Farrukh Javed Moon also criticized the current practices, pointing out that the law does not allow impounding vehicles solely for unpaid challans. He stressed the rising number of confrontations between wardens and the public, calling the matter alarming.
There is no online platform available to update contact number and email of vehicle owner. Second most of the vehicles using someone else number plates. I came across a same model and colour corolla using duplicate number to avoid registration. There are more bikes using duplicate registrations as well.