Hyderabad: Come April, motorists caught repeatedly flouting traffic rules and ignoring pending challans might not just face penalties but also have their licenses and vehicle registration certificates (RCs) frozen. This measure is part of a new system designed by the Telangana transport department to discipline road users, tighten enforcement, and ensure the timely payment of fines across the state. A notification to this effect is expected in the first week of April, said joint transport commissioner, M Ramesh.Under the proposed system, motorists accumulating five challans against their vehicles in a single year will be held to account. “An immediate alert will be sent to the RTA, leading to the blocking of their driving licence or RC. Access to RTA services will be restored only after all pending dues are cleared,” said a transport department official.The move, officials noted, has become a necessity given the scale of the issue. Datafrom 2025 shared by joint commissioner of police (traffic), D Joel Davis, shows 8.17 lakh vehicles in Telangana had pending challans, accounting for over 6.2 crore violations and more than Rs 683 crore in unpaid dues. Over seven lakh of these vehicles had between 5 and 10 violations, indicating rampant repeat violations.“At the moment, we have no proposal to increase fines. Instead, we are focusing on stricter enforcement,” said the official. Currently, the penality for traffic violations range from Rs 1,000 (for not wearing helmet) to as high as Rs 10,000 (for drunk driving)The department is also set to introduce a formal grievance redressal system to address complaints related to challans. Officials said a dedicated authority will be established in line with central motor vehicle rules to ensure transparent and time-bound resolution of disputes.“Now, complaints must be filed online. There will be no offline provision. Officials will review cases and communicate decisions electronically. Standard operating procedures have been put in place to ensure consistency and accountability,” explained an official from the department, adding that disputes will be handled by designated authorities based on jurisdiction.According to them, most disputes arise due to multiple challans for a single violation captured by different cameras, continued issuance of fines after change of vehicle ownership, and technical or data entry errors.………………GFXIn major commissionerates such as Hyderabad, traffic DCPs will oversee cases, while in districts, additional DCPs or SP-rank officers will handle complaints.Within the transport dept, deputy transport commissioners, RTOs, district transport officers will act as grievance redressal authorities.Dept has also set timelines — e-challans must be issued within three days, while manually recorded violations can take up to 15 days.Motorists must pay the fine or file a complaint within 45 days. Authorities will decide on complaints within 30 days.If the decision is accepted, the fine must be paid within 30 days. If contested, motorists can approach a court by paying 50% of the challan amount.Courts will have final say, with power to cancel incorrect challans or uphold valid ones. Failure to comply could lead to further enforcement action.
