The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is set to engage state-owned engineering consultancy Engineers India Ltd (EIL) to conduct independent third-party quality audits of around 5,000 km of national highways and expressways. According to reports from The Times of India, the engagement is aimed at improving construction standards and preventing premature deterioration of road infrastructure. Under the proposed arrangement, EIL will inspect highway projects from the initial stages of construction through completion, assessing whether construction work complies with technical specifications, quality standards and contractual requirements prescribed for each project.
The proposed quality audit programme will cover approximately 770 km of expressways, 2,200 km of six-lane highways, and around 1,000 km each of four-lane and two-lane national highways. As reported by The Times of India, the engagement is expected to initially run for three years, with inspections planned across project stretches to identify deficiencies and ensure corrective measures are taken. The initiative comes amid concerns over construction deficiencies, inconsistent quality and instances of roads and expressways deteriorating or failing prematurely.
The move follows a Prime Minister's Office directive earlier this year calling for stronger independent third-party audits of highway projects. According to The Times of India, at present, quality assessments are conducted through independent auditors, including retired government engineers empanelled by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and other implementing agencies. However, concerns over the effectiveness of the existing system have prompted the government to consider a more institutionalised approach.
EIL, an engineering consultancy under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has prior experience in conducting third-party quality checks on major highway projects. As reported by The Times of India, the company was involved in quality oversight during the construction of parts of the Golden Quadrilateral, one of India's landmark road infrastructure programmes. The proposed system is aimed at strengthening independent monitoring, improving adherence to prescribed construction standards and reducing quality deficiencies and premature failures across India's expanding highway network.
