Shimla: Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today launched the ‘Challan2 Pay’ initiative, under which people can now make secure, convenient and real-time digital payments against challans on the spot. The facility will save people the inconvenience of visiting government offices to make payments, enabling them to pay challan amounts digitally at the place of issuance.
Under the new system, Point-of-Sale (POS) machines provided by Axis Bank were being made available to officers of the Transport Department. The initiative is not only aimed at facilitating payments but will also ensure greater transparency and accountability in the collection of challan amounts. A digital record of every transaction will be maintained and the amount collected will be directly deposited into the state treasury.
Sukhu directed the authorities to accelerate the development of e-charging infrastructure across the state. He said that 30 e-vehicles would be provided to HRTC officers. He also directed that Una district and the Regional Manager (RM) office at Nalagarh be made fully operational with electric buses.
Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, while speaking in the meeting, said that HRTC was the lifeline of Himachal Pradesh, providing transport facilities to people even in remote and inaccessible areas. He said that the operation of e-buses was an important step towards environmental protection and was also helping HRTC achieve economic savings. He said that the operation of e-buses was resulting in savings of Rs. 18.19 per kilometre for HRTC.
