The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will carry out special quality inspections of 17 under-construction National Highway projects, including projects in Punjab and Haryana.
The selected projects have bid values that were more than 15 per cent below their estimated project costs. The inspections are intended to identify quality-related concerns at an early stage and ensure that corrective measures are taken in time, alongside NHAI’s existing quality-monitoring mechanisms.
The first round of inspections is scheduled to be completed by December 2026. After six months, the selected projects will be inspected again by a different team of experts. The follow-up inspections will assess compliance with prescribed construction standards and verify whether corrective measures have been properly implemented.
Projects Selected on Three Criteria
NHAI has selected the 17 projects using three specific criteria: a construction cost of more than Rs 500 crore, a tender discount of over 15 per cent, and physical progress between 35 and 80 per cent.
According to NHAI, these criteria are intended to focus inspections on projects that are at a critical stage of construction while ensuring that the quality-monitoring exercise follows an objective and data-driven approach.
The selected projects include greenfield and access-controlled corridors, bypasses, and four- and six-laning works across Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
Specialised Teams to Conduct Inspections
To strengthen its quality-monitoring system, NHAI has created a pool of experts for the exercise. The specialised inspection teams will be led by 39 experienced and retired engineers from various government organisations, including the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Defence and State Public Works Departments.
Technical experts will also assist the teams during the inspections.
The teams will compare the ongoing construction with approved drawings, technical specifications, contractual requirements and project-specific quality plans. They will examine construction materials, workmanship and construction methods, besides checking records related to sampling and testing.
Road Safety and Environmental Measures Also Under Review
The inspections will also examine road safety arrangements, traffic management measures and environmental safeguards wherever applicable.
Any work found to be below the prescribed standards will be identified and followed up for corrective action under the relevant contractual provisions.
NHAI said the specialised inspections would also help identify recurring quality concerns, construction practices that require improvement and areas where greater accountability is needed from contractors, consultants and other stakeholders.
The initiative forms part of NHAI’s broader efforts to strengthen quality monitoring across ongoing National Highway projects and ensure timely corrective action. The objective is to support the development of a world-class National Highway network across the country.