AI Traffic System Catches Rs 470 Crore in Violations on Mumbai–Pune Expressway

Pune, 11th August 2025: The high-tech Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway has flagged a staggering 27.76 lakh traffic violations in its first year of operation, translating into e-challans worth ₹470 crore. Yet, official data shows that only ₹51 crore of these penalties have actually been recovered.

Figures from the Maharashtra Transport Department reveal that private cars are the primary offenders, racking up 17.20 lakh challans — most for overspeeding — along the 95-kilometre corridor. They are followed by heavy goods vehicles with 3.27 lakh notices, buses and other heavy passenger carriers at 2.48 lakh, taxis with 2 lakh, and light commercial vehicles with 1.2 lakh recorded violations. Medium goods vehicles accounted for 85,468 challans, articulated trucks for 30,450, and medium passenger buses for 14,764.

Between July 19, 2024, and July 17, 2025, the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department issued these challans, according to a senior official who confirmed that recovery rates remain low despite the massive penalty figures.

Information obtained under the Right to Information Act by transporter K.V. Shetty further disclosed that ITMS operator Proctech Solutions ITMS LLP was paid ₹57.94 crore for processing 8.84 lakh e-challans between July and December 2024. Under the contract, the operator earns ₹654.90 per challan, inclusive of GST.

The ITMS — introduced to enhance road safety and enforce discipline — deploys AI-powered high-resolution cameras, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), speed detection systems, weigh-in-motion sensors, weather monitoring tools, and a central command and control centre (CCC). A total of 40 gantries and hundreds of cameras line the expressway. The ₹100-crore project received ₹45 crore from the Road Safety Fund as viability gap funding.

Officials explained that all violation footage is first reviewed at the CCC before challans are cleared by the respective Regional Transport Offices. Offences range across 17 categories, with speeding, not wearing seatbelts, lane indiscipline, wrong-side driving, and mobile phone use among the most common.

One senior transport officer noted that the Khandala ghat section, a winding 10-kilometre stretch between Lonavala and Khalapur, has emerged as a particular hotspot for overspeeding, despite continuous surveillance.

“The system has brought unprecedented transparency and precision to enforcement,” the official said. “But the challenge remains in ensuring higher fine recovery rates and sustained behavioural change among motorists.”