Bengaluru Traffic Police registers 10.99 lakh cases of wrong parking, but menace still haunts Bengaluru

According to data accessed by The Hindu, this is the highest number of cases booked in the corresponding period in the last 10 years for improper parking. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO

The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) booked a whopping 10.99 million cases of wrong parking in the first eight months of this year, almost equaling the 11.16 million cases booked in the entire last year, which was itself a record.

While the figures suggest that enforcement has intensified, officers have admitted that the impact on the ground has been very small. The problem persists even though tows, paid parking and reserved beats have been instituted to fix the problem.

Cases of bad parking in 2026 (by August end) 10.99 lakh 1.16 lakh202511.16 lakh1.28 lakh20249.73 lakh 1.17 lakh 2023 10 lakh78.000202210 lakh 5.0207 lakh 20207 lakh

A senior traffic police officer blamed the low penalty and repeated offers of concessions made by the government for hampering the impact of tougher enforcement. As a result, random parking still thrives in the city, even though it is one of the main contributors to the micro-level congestion that also affects traffic on major roads.

Records enforcement, an ongoing problem

According to data accessed by The Hindu, this is the highest number of cases booked in the corresponding period in the last 10 years for improper parking. The data further shows that BTP booked 11.16 million wrong parking cases for the entire year 2025, 9.73 million in 2024, 10 million in 2023 and 2022 and 7.26 million in 2021.

In addition, BTP has booked a record 1.16 lakh cases of pavement parking by the end of August 2026, while no year in the last half decade has booked more than 90,000 cases in the first eight months.

Officers noted that it is natural for a city like Bengaluru with increasing number of vehicle registrations to see an increase in offenses and year-on-year increase in cases.

Low fines?

A senior traffic police officer explained that Bengaluru has lower fines for haphazard parking at ₹500 compared to other cities. He felt it should be more than ₹1,000 for the first violation, with fines increasing through hard plates for the second and third violations.

“Furthermore, we keep giving concessions to violators, which defeats the purpose of punishment. There are many cases where motorists who are caught violating the norms walk away by paying the fine when the traffic police pull out the concession window,” explained the officer.

The lower fine structure was also flagged recently by Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who even wrote to the Transport Minister demanding an increase in the penalty for riding on footpaths. Random parking also falls into the same category.

Published – 20 Sep 2026 18:17 IST