Lok Sabha Question No. 868 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-24
Subject: Ensuring Quality in NHs Construction/Maintenance
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shri Rajesh Verma, Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar, Smt. Shambhavi, Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 868 ANSWERED ON 24 TH  JULY, 2025

## ENSURING QUALITY IN NHs CONSTRUCTION/MAINTENANCE

## 868.  SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE:

SMT. SHAMBHAVI:

SHRI RAVINDRA DATTARAM WAIKAR:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI RAJESH VERMA:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  specific  measures  being  undertaken  to  enhance  the quality of National Highways (NHs) construction and maintenance by July 2025;
- (b) the new benchmarks being set for construction and the focus areas for corridor-based infrastructure development;
- (c) the manner in which performance ratings and transparent toll collection  bids  would  be  implemented  to  ensure  high  standards  of construction and maintenance;
- (d) the timeline for shifting the focus from quantity to quality in
- National Highway development; and
- (e)  the  anticipated  impact  of  these  changes  on  road  safety, traffic efficiency and the overall highway infrastructure in the country?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

(a)  to  (e)  All  efforts  are  made  to  ensure  that  the  National  Highways (NHs) are constructed as per stipulated quality standards specified in the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) specifications and codes. To ensure that  highway  construction  adheres  to  stipulated  quality  standards, Consultants  (Authority's  Engineer/  Independent  Engineers-  AE/IE)  are appointed by the executing agencies for day-to-day supervision of works at site. Officials of executing agencies undertake inspections from time to time and ensure adherence of conformity of quality  of  the  work  done  by  the  Concessionaire/  Contractors  with stipulated  requirements.  Deficiencies,  if  any,  observed  during  such examination/ supervision are brought to the notice of the Concessionaires/ Contractors for taking up necessary corrective measures.  Actions  against  defaulting  agencies  are  taken  as  per  the provisions of the Contract agreement in case of any defaults.

The Government has taken the following initiatives for improvement of quality  control  systems  in  implementation  of  NHs  works,  some  of which are as stated below:

- i. Mandatory  assessments  of  road  conditions  through  Network Survey  Vehicle  (NSV)  before  and  after  completion  of  work  and every  six  months  post  completion;  Further  revamping  of  NSV system   for  road  condition  assessment  using  analytics  and enforcement  of  contractual  provisions  during  Operation  and Maintenance (O&M) through dedicated central cell;
- ii. Analysis of High-Resolution Imagery collected from Drone Surveys in Drone Analytics Monitoring System (DAMS) integrated with Artificial Intelligence/ Machine  Learning  algorithms  for periodic evaluation of progress and quality of ongoing NHs works from time to time;
- iii. Deployment  of  Mobile  Quality  Control  Vans  (MQCVs)  equipped with  Non-Destructive  Testing  Equipment  on  pilot  basis  in  four States, namely in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odisha and Karnataka, for

diagnostic  assessments  of  overall  health  and  quality  of  works from time to time during project implementation phases;

- iv. Operationalization of a centralized system called NHAI One App for Monitoring and rectification of highway defects which enables geo-tagging of defects along with photographs;
- v. Deployment  of  Third  Party  Quality  Auditors  for  independent quality audits of NH works on a case-to-case basis.

The  development  and  maintenance  of  NHs  is  a  continuous process and the works on NHs are taken up from time to time based on  the  traffic  density,  inter-se  priority  and  availability  of  funds. Government has inter-alia decided to focus on development of Access controlled  National  High  Speed  Corridors  /  Expressways,  besides taking up development of ring roads, bypasses & elevated corridors in major  cities/  urban  centers  and  State  capitals,  in  consultation  with State Governments, to decongest traffic and alleviate choke / congestion  points  on  NHs  and  for  segregation  of  local  traffic  from thorough traffic on NHs. Focus areas concerning initiatives taken for corridor-based  infrastructure  development  include  smart  highways, climate resilience, multi-modal connectivity, and data-driven management with due emphasis on quality, safety, and sustainability.

The Government in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has  taken  initiatives  for  developing  performance  rating  systems  for various stakeholders such as Detailed Project Report (DPR) Consultants, AE/IE and Concessionaires. The guidelines for performance rating for DPR Consultants and AE/IE have been recently uploaded in the Official Website for inviting public comments. National Highways  Authority of India (NHAI) has developed a policy in December, 2024 for initiating Concessionaire Rating for performance assessment.

All  efforts  are  made  by  NHAI  to  ensure  efficient  toll  collection operations  by  adopting  a  transparent,  competitive,  and  technologyenabled bidding process. All bids for toll plaza operations are invited through e-tendering system, ensuring equal opportunity for participation and promoting fair competition. The process is governed by well-defined criteria and oversight mechanisms to ensure integrity, accountability, and optimal revenue realization for the exchequer. The  Government  focuses  on  adhering  to  quality  standards  as stipulated  in  IRC  specifications  and  codes  and  emphasizes  on  road safety  measures  in  all  stages  of  project  development,  i.e,  during design,  construction,  operation  and  maintenance  stages.  Guidelines have  been  issued  for  regular  safety  audit  of  all  NHs  at  design, construction, pre-opening stage of NH projects as well as on existing NHs  for  ensuring  road  safety.  In  addition  to  National  High  Speed Corridors, Expressways, ring roads and bypasses, the Government has also adopted a policy to improve all NHs as per the traffic requirement but  minimum  Two  Lane  with  paved  shoulders  standards  except  for ecologically  sensitive  Himalayan  region  where  development  plan  is finalized  considering  the  geological,  environmental  factors,  etc.  The above  developments  have  been  undertaken  for  increasing  logistics efficiency  as  well  as  for  improvement  of  regional  connectivity  and overall accessibility to the NHs across the country.

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