The new challans with much heavier fines are likely to be issued from the the second week of August.
Ghaziabad: Now two-wheelers and other vehicles not allowed on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway will be fined 20 times over as the Police and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are planning to increase the fine amount for banned vehicles, saying, “we have no option left”. Currently, vehicles not allowed on the DME are fined Rs 1,000 for each violation. If the new rule comes into effect, the amount will increase to Rs 20,000, reported Times of India.
Apart from two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws and tractor-trolleys are not allowed on the DME because of the sheer difference of speed between them and other vehicles that hurtle down the road at 80-90kmph. Two-wheelers, which take the DME to reach their destinations in a short time because of the seamless ride, are often found involved in accidents. The 60-kms-stretch connecting Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan with Meerut, with most of it falling in Ghaziabad (42 kms), connects Delhi NCR with Uttar Pradesh’s major city.
Although opened to commuters more than a year ago, nothing concrete has been done on the DME to stop these banned vehicles from using the expressway. Ramanand Kushwaha, SP (traffic), said they were in talks with NHAI to improve the quality of CCTV cameras that are already installed on the DME. These CCTV cameras will help identify the bikes, autos or tractors that take the expressway.
“We will increase the penalty from Rs 1,000 to Rs 20,000. We have no option left. This is the only way to stop banned vehicles from using the DME. They are a major cause of accidents,” he added. Kushwaha expected the new rule to come into force in about two weeks.
“Once the formalities are completed by NHAI, we will start issuing the new challans. I expect it to start by the second week of August. We will also ask NHAI to install proper signboards,” he said.
NHAI officials, too, said increasing the fine amount was the only way to stop banned vehicles from using the DME. “Automatic number plate recognition cameras have already been installed at the entry and exit points of the DME. We will soon start sending information about the offenders to the UP Police so that they can issue the challans at the earliest,” said Arvind Kumar, the NHAI project director.
