Safe Kerala project: No fine, only challan for traffic violations caught on AI camera till May 19

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government has decided to issue an order against collecting fines from traffic violators caught on the AI cameras installed across the state till May 19.

Instead, a challan will be sent to the offender detailing their violation and fine, as part of spreading awareness regarding the Safe Kerala project.

Though 726 artificial intelligence-enabled cameras were inaugurated on April 20 in the state, the government had clarified earlier that it would not begin collecting fines for violations till May 19.

However, an order to this effect is now being issued because sending challans without charging penalties could lead to legal hassles.

The order will clearly state that no fine will be collected from offenders till May 19. Officials with the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) said the order will come out on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Meanwhile, an official with Keltron, which was the project management consultant in the Safe Kerala scheme, told Manorama Online that the Transport Department is yet to issue instructions regarding the format of the challan.

Around 25 lakh challans can be sent in a month. Close to 140 employees across control rooms will be assigned the duty of dispatching the challans. Over 70 people have already been hired for the purpose.

The AI cameras will send footage of the violation to the central control room. The officials deployed will verify the recording and upload it to the Central government's ITMS (Integrated Transport Management System) server. MVD officials will then download the footage and examine it, said the Keltron official.

Once the violation is confirmed, an e-challan will be approved and uploaded to the ITMS server. Vehicle information can be obtained through the Centre's VAHAN software. An SMS will be sent to the vehicle owner's number.

Simultaneously, a copy of the challan will reach the government's control room. A challan will be generated within six hours of the violation.

As per law, the challan should reach the vehicle owner via post. It has also been informed that a copy of the challan, along with the recorded signatures of the officials concerned will be sent to the vehicle owner.