LAHORE: As many as 2,546 vehicles with a history of prolonged delay in the payment of e-challans have been blacklisted by the city traffic police in the provincial database, declaring their owners “chronic violators and defaulters”.

The action has been initiated through an enforcement drive targeting the habitual e-challan defaulters, in collaboration with the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA).

As per the city traffic authorities, these vehicles have violated more than 50 traffic rules, including jumping the red signal, disregarding the lane and one-way rule, besides committing other offences like speeding and reckless driving.

A senior official says that initially the vehicles with more than 50 unpaid e-challans have been blacklisted and their details circulated among traffic wardens to a launch a crackdown and impound them. The wardens are further directed to initiate proceedings for the recovery of the fines imposed through the e-challans, he adds.

The official says the wardens have been strictly directed that no vehicle shall be released until the owner pays the entire amount of the fines.

He says that two of these 2,546 vehicles committed traffic violations more than 300 times, adding that one of the owners owes the e-challan fine amount to the tune ofRs324,500 for violating traffic rules 389 times, while the other Rs1,35,700 for 316 times.

Similarly, he says, 10 vehicles were captured by the PSCA cameras while violating rules more than 200 times each in the city, while 182 others committed violations more than 100 times each.

Some of these vehicles belong to private banks, agencies and companies, the official adds.

He says that these vehicles will be automatically detected through the PSCA cameras’ network, and their real-time alerts will be generated at Punjab police’s integrated command, control and communication centre -- PPIC3. Upon detection, traffic enforcement officers will be authorised to stop and impound such vehicles, that will not be released until the payment of all the pending fines.

“This initiative aims to promote a culture of compliance and ensure that traffic laws are respected across the city,” he says.

Meanwhile, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Athar Waheed has urged people to check their e-challan status regularly and clear the outstanding dues through the PSCA portal to avoid any inconvenience.

He emphasises that the step is part of the ongoing efforts to improve traffic discipline and enhance road safety in the city through technology-driven enforcement.

“Non-payment of e-challans not only reflects disregard for traffic laws, but also undermines the safety of all road users. The blacklisting initiative will help ensure accountability and strengthen deterrence against repeated violations,” the CTO adds.

He says that the PSCA has pledged its full technical support to the city traffic police in this enforcement initiative, ensuring that the defaulters are efficiently traced through its citywide camera network.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2025