National Highways

Govt plans to rate national highway corridors on safety, road quality

Highways to be ranked on efficiency, safety and user experience

Contractors face penalties for accident-prone spots on national highways

Road ministry tightens highway construction norms, introducing penalties for contractors over repeat fatal accidents and capping subcontracting at 30% of project value

Highways ministry invokes catastrophic failure clause against 2 developers

The Highways Ministry has invoked the newly introduced provision of the catastrophic failure clause against two highway developers for major structural failures on National Highways projects. The provisions of the catastrophic event allow highway-owning agencies to bar highway developers for two years from bidding for new projects. Such highway builders also face negative ratings that will adversely impact their chances of getting future projects. According to documents accessed by PTI, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry has notified a catastrophic event in a project comprising the four-lane Poondiankuppam-Sattanatharupam section of NH-45 (New NH-32) from km 67 to km 123 in Tamil Nadu under HAM mode. "The bid project cost was Rs 2,120 crore, and it was awarded to M/S Poonadinkuppam Sattanathapuram Section Private Limited (Promoters-M/s Oriental) under a concession agreement. The appointed date of the project was January 20, 2022, with a scheduled completion date of January 19,

NHAI to conduct quality checks on projects with abnormally low quoted bids

Highway authority will inspect 17 projects where bids were over 15 per cent below estimated costs, with a second round of quality checks planned after six months

NHAI on access-controlled high-speed national highways standards

The guidelines aim to standardise technical and safety provisions for high-speed corridors as India plans 50,000 km of access-controlled highways under Viksit Bharat 2047

55 National Highway projects faced major failures since 2014; Kerala tops

Of the 55 NH projects involving caving in, major failures or structural damage since 2014, Kerala accounted for the highest number

West Asia, project delays dent highway building in April-May FY27

Down 45% year-on-year to 740 km in April-May FY27

SC questions Highways Act, says bureaucrats should not decide compensation

The top court said determining compensation for acquired land is a judicial function and welcomed the Centre's proposal to amend the National Highways Act

CIC advises NHAI to proactively disclose contracts' info in public domain

Underlining that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is not placing contract agreement-related information in the public domain, the CIC has advised the authority to proactively disclose highway contracts, safety plans and other key project documents to promote transparency and accountability. Issuing an advisory under Section 25(5) of the RTI Act, Information Commissioner Jaya Varma Sinha said the "NHAI is not placing contract agreement-related information on their website in the public domain". The Central Information Commission (CIC) observed that "contractual agreements and safety plans directly impact public safety, transparency, and accountability in infrastructure projects". It noted that "withholding such information under the guise of exemptions is inconsistent with the spirit of the RTI Act". According to the order, proactive disclosure would "enhance transparency in public procurement and execution of highway projects", "ensure accountability of contractors a

NHAI wins ₹1,202 cr arbitration award in Karnataka highway project case

The award relates to the Tumkur-Chitradurga six-laning project in Karnataka, where the concessionaire was required to pay annual premium with escalation

CCEA approves highway projects worth ₹24,249.6 crore in four states

Odisha coastal highway set to take off after a decade-long wait

Centre seeks state funding support for urban NH decongestion projects

States can choose from four funding models, including sharing land acquisition costs, to support ring roads, bypasses and elevated corridors around cities

60% of national highway projects on annuity model facing delays: Crisil

Crisil said most delayed highway projects under the hybrid annuity model have received extension approvals as delays were beyond concessionaires' control

India drives into an era of barrier-free toll collection with MLFF rollout

Multi-lane free flow system launched in Gujarat; Delhi will be next

Nitin Gadkari launches India's first barrier-less toll system in Gujarat

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday announced the launch of India's first Multi-Lane Free Flow barrier-less tolling system at the Chorayasi Toll Plaza on the Surat-Bharuch section of NH-48 in Gujarat, marking a big shift in highway tolling. Gadkari, in a social media post on X, said the state-of-the-art system enables seamless toll collection without requiring vehicles to stop, using advanced technologies such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and FASTag. The highways minister noted that the introduction of Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) marks a major milestone in the digitisation of India's tolling ecosystem and the modernisation of National Highway infrastructure in line with global standards. The system is expected to significantly reduce travel time, decongest highways, improve fuel efficiency, lower vehicular emissions, and minimise human intervention in toll operations, he added. Gadkari stated that barrier-less tolling will enhance 'ease of living' for citizens an

NHAI can't deny recompense citing financial burden: Supreme Court

Supreme Court refuses to limit 2019 Tarsem Singh ruling, saying constitutional guarantee of just compensation cannot be diluted due to financial burden

Govt cuts toll on partially-open National Expressways from Feb 15

The government has amended the national highways fee rules to lower toll fees for the users of partially operational National Expressways. The amended rules will come into effect from February 15, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways said in a statement on Thursday. The government has notified an amendment to the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, it said. Under this, when a National Expressway is not opened end-to-end, the toll fee will be charged for the completed length at a lower rate as applicable for the National Highway, the Ministry said. It said that presently, user fee on National Expressways is charged 25 per cent more than normal National Highways user fee for the completed length as they provide access-controlled, faster and seamless travel experience which provides comfortable travel to commuters.. This fee is levied for the completed section even if the Expressway is not fully open along its entire length end to end. ...

New NHAI InvIT for retail investors receives 5 NHs for ₹9,500 crore

NHAI has accepted a ₹9,500-crore offer from Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust to monetise five highway stretches spanning over 260 km across four states, expanding retail participation in road assets

Over 500 roads, including four NHs, shut in Himachal due to heavy snowfall

The PWD said 264 machines, including 78 departmental JCBs, 128 hired JCBs, 18 robots, 10 dozers and 30 tippers, have been deployed for snow clearance operations across the state

SC flags gaps in highway land compensation, asks Centre to revisit NH Act

Supreme Court flags unfair compensation regime under National Highways Act, says landowners are disadvantaged compared with other land acquisition laws