Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety has approved the installation of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at 22 Regional Transport Office (RTO) check posts across the state to combat corruption, reduce manual interference, and ease traffic congestion at state border points.

In addition to ANPR cameras, speed-detection cameras will be installed at nine strategic locations, including Pethikuppam-Incoming, Poonamallee, Tiruttani, Thiruchitrambalam (Villupuram), Katpadi, Hosur-Incoming and Outgoing (Vellore), and KG Chavadi-Incoming and Outgoing (Coimbatore).

This initiative aims to digitise vehicle monitoring and reduce tailbacks, especially at heavily congested border check posts such as Bannari, Hosur, Serkadu, and Pethikuppam. With the new system, commercial and tourist vehicles can now pay road taxes online and pass through the check posts without needing to exit their vehicles.

Delays previously faced by some commercial vehicles, particularly omnibuses registered in other states, have been attributed to demands for bribes by check post officials despite proof of online tax payment.

The ANPR and speed cameras will integrate with the Central Monitoring System housed at the State Transport Authority office in Guindy. This unified digital platform will offer real-time tracking of vehicle movements, ANPR analytics, speed violation detection with automated alerts, and evidentiary support through video and images. The system will also link to the VAHAN portal for vehicle registration and the SARATHI portal for driving licence data.

The ANPR system will not only verify tax payments before vehicles enter Tamil Nadu but also automatically generate challans for violations, including helmet non-compliance, mobile phone use while driving, and failure to wear seat belts.

The 22 RTO check posts oversee issuing temporary permits and road tax collection for vehicles entering Tamil Nadu from neighbouring states. Since 2023, all categories of temporary tourist permits, including motor cabs, maxi cabs, and omnibuses, have been issued online. Temporary goods vehicle permits are also processed at these locations, which generated Rs 230.04 crore in revenue during 2024-25.

The state’s move follows recent Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) raids that uncovered bribery allegations, including the recovery of Rs 1.72 lakh from a Motor Vehicle Inspector at the Poonamallee check post and Rs 95,000 from the Christianpet check post, highlighting ongoing corruption concerns in the transport sector.

With inputs from IANS