Owe traffic fines? RTO won't issue you fitness certificate

Vehicles that have traffic violation dues pending against them will not be issued fitness certificates (FCs).

The Commissioner of Transport and Road Safety issued an order in this regard to regional transport officers (RTOs) on September 30.

Bengaluru traffic police say vehicle owners owe nearly Rs 100 crore in traffic violation fines after the force launched a contactless enforcement following the lockdown.

Vehicle owners have failed to pay the dues in spite of notices being served on them. Owners of commercial vehicles owe the majority of the dues, a senior traffic police said.

The matter was brought to the notice of the chief secretary at a high-level meeting recently. The chief secretary subsequently directed the transport department to coordinate with traffic police to start the process of recovering the dues.

Police NOC required

Accordingly, it has been mandatory for vehicle owners to get no objection certificates (NOCs) from the traffic police to obtain the fitness certificates (FCs), said an official in the transport department.