The State government has announced a 50% rebate in fines in e-challan cases registered by traffic police across Karnataka if settled by February 11. This is a one-time measure to clear backlog cases that have not been settled.

An order to this effect was issued by Pushpa V.S., Under Secretary, Transport Department, on Thursday. E-challan cases are those booked when violations are caught on traffic surveillance cameras.

The move comes in the wake of a January 27 resolution by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority to request the state transport department to facilitate “access to justice for all” with regard to traffic fines imposed by the state government across the cities in Karnataka.

Based on the resolution, the state transport department sent a recommendation to the government to offer a 50 per cent discount on traffic fines in the state.

Special Commission Traffic M A Saleem, said, "More than two crore notices are pending from last seven to eight years and about Rs 500 crore is due as fine amount."

About the list of offences that top the chart, Saleem, said "Helmetless riding tops the list, followed by one-way violation, jumping signal lights and wrong parking which include randomly parking at bus stops, footpaths, zebra crossing and at 'wrong parking zones.'

On Thursday, the department issued a circular stating that a 50 per cent discount on traffic fines can be accorded for offences recorded till February 11, 2023, as a “one-time measure”.

In cities such as Bengaluru, the traffic police have enabled online payment systems for traffic violation fines in collaboration with payment gateways like Paytm. The pending fines can be accessed through the Karnataka One Services portal.