The Union government has disclosed that 55 National Highway projects involving caving in, major failures or structural damage have occurred since 2014. According to a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reply in the Lok Sabha, these projects span roads, bridges and flyovers, along with penalties and actions taken against contractors, concessionaires and engineers. The comprehensive list covers multiple states across India, highlighting significant infrastructure challenges in highway construction and maintenance.
Kerala led with the highest number of project failures at 9 cases, followed by Maharashtra with 8 projects and Bihar with 6 cases. As reported by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Uttar Pradesh accounted for 5 projects, while Haryana had 4 cases. Tamil Nadu and West Bengal reported 3 projects each, and Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha had 2 cases each. The remaining states - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Telangana and Uttarakhand - reported 1 project each.
The ministry disclosed significant penalties imposed on contractors across various states. According to the government response, the highest penalty of ₹134.78 crore was imposed on a contractor in Telangana in 2022. Other major penalties included ₹119 crore on a contractor in Madhya Pradesh, ₹41.32 crore in Maharashtra, ₹31.245 crore on contractors in Kerala and ₹25 crore on a contractor in Bihar. The ministry also listed instances of contractor debarment, blacklisting, suspension of contractor personnel and Authority's Engineers, and termination of project managers in different states.
The ministry identified three major incidents of flooding of low-lying areas or agricultural fields linked to faulty NH construction since 2014. As reported by the ministry, these include one case on NH-161 in Telangana and two stretches in Maharashtra on NH-48 and NH-166. The ministry explained that NH drainage systems are designed after considering factors such as traffic, hydrology, road geometry and existing drainage. However, localised issues in drainage systems are caused due to non-clearance of existing drainage systems, blockage of drainage outfall by unauthorised construction, poor maintenance of drainage systems and unprecedented rainfall leading to flooding of drainage systems and low-lying areas near NHs.
