Police collect 1.2 billion rupees in traffic fines from Karachiites

Karachi traffic police have extracted Rs1.2 billion from citizens as fines over different traffic violations during the past one year, official data reveals.

3.5 million worth of tickets issued per day

Over the past year, from July 1, 2023, to the end of July 2024, over two million Karachiites were issued tickets, and the total fine stood at Rs1,294,886,450—which is around Rs3.5 million per day.

Fines of 100 million are yet to be paid

Of the total Rs1.2bn fine amount, citizens have paid Rs1.19bn, while 114,142 traffic rule violators have yet to pay over Rs100m in fines.

This year alone, from January to July, traffic police issued 992,576 challans, which amount to Rs699,813,650 (over Rs699m).

While incumbent Sindh Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon have time and again made it clear that the traffic police were not a revenue-generating agency, the huge number of fines and challan amount shows that this might not be the case as traffic police is entitled to 30 per cent of the challan’s total amount and the remaining 70 percent goes to the provincial government. This means the traffic cops could get a Rs360m share from the Rs1.2bn amount.

On the contrary, DIG-Traffic Ahmed Nawaz Cheema said that the traffic police had not been paid their “due amount” for the past four to five years.

“Of the 30 percent amount, 15 percent is for [cash] rewards for traffic police officers, while the remaining amount is for the procurement of equipment,” he said.

He said that it was a clear policy of the IGP-Sindh and Karachi police chief Javed Odho that the traffic police should mainly issue challans for moving traffic violations like wrong-way, one-way driving, violation of traffic lights, vehicles without number plates, etc.

He claimed that, after the IGP’s direction, the traffic challan rate had dropped to one-third of what it was before his fresh stint.

District-wise details

District East tops the chart with a fine amounting to Rs240,260,100 (over Rs240m) against 357,374 tickets, followed by District West with a fine worth Rs224,790,700 (over Rs224m) against 309,170 tickets and District Malir Rs207,635,350 (over Rs207m) against 317,310 tickets.