Chandigarh: Traffic violators got away for 15 days—why?
For 15 days (June 25-July 10), Chandigarh's traffic cameras recorded violations but didn't send out any challans.
The reason? Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), which runs the system, paused services because the municipal corporation hadn't paid ₹20 crore in dues.
So, all those traffic offenses during this time went unpunished.
Why the system was paused
After Chandigarh Smart City Limited was dissolved in March, control of the camera system shifted to the municipal corporation.
BEL was still waiting on payments for running and maintaining the system—₹12 crore for operations, ₹7 crore for upgrades, and ₹60 lakh for police cameras.
With bills unpaid, BEL shut down software access and automatic fine generation.
How many challans were missed
The shutdown left nearly 25,000 pending challans since over 2,000 cameras usually catch about 1,800 violations daily.
Now, officials are bulk-uploading these missed fines to another government platform—but only offenses from within the last two weeks can actually be processed.
Bill payment matters!
The municipal corporation is reviewing BEL's bills now. Once sorted out, they expect everything—including fine processing—to get back on track soon.
It's a reminder that paying your bills matters—even for city services!