Kerala National Highway-66 collapse: Megha Engg faces 1-year NHAI ban

MEIL barred from bidding for NH projects for a year after slope protection failure on NH-66 in Kerala; NHAI orders review by experts and issues ₹9 crore penalty notice

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The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has debarred Megha Engineering and Infrastructure (MEIL) from future national highway (NH) projects for a year after probing the collapse on NH-66 in Kerala, it announced on Tuesday.

 

“An incident of collapse of slope protection works at Cherkkala in Kasaragod district was reported on the Chengala–Neeleshwaram section of NH-66 in Kerala on 16 June 2025. The incident was caused due to improper design, inadequate slope protection works and a poor drainage system,” the NHAI said.

 

The authority stated that the concessionaire and its promoter, MEIL, has been debarred from participating in future bids due to their failure to execute adequate slope protection works and implement proper drainage systems to mitigate such risks. 

 

The project is on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), under which the concessionaire must maintain the section for 15 years and will reconstruct the slope protection works at their own cost.

 

“A show cause notice has also been issued to the concessionaire for debarment of one year, including levy of a monetary penalty of up to ₹9 crore,” NHAI said.

 

According to the authority, an expert committee comprising a senior scientist from the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), a retired professor from IIT-Palakkad and a representative from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has been constituted to visit the site and review the design and construction of NH-66 in Kerala.

 

The committee will also suggest detailed remedial measures for the project, it added.