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Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has warned that consultants responsible for defective detailed project reports (DPRs) would be held accountable for accidents and loss of life on highways. He also cautioned contractors against compromising construction quality, saying performance and financial audits would be used to assess their work and could lead to penalties or blacklisting. The ministry is also preparing tunnel tenders worth INR 2 lakh crore to INR 2.5 lakh crore. Industry representatives, meanwhile, raised concerns over the use of lowest-bid tenders and called for greater adoption of quality-cum-cost based selection for large and complex projects.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has warned consultants preparing defective detailed project reports (DPRs) that they would be held responsible for accidents and deaths resulting from poor project planning.
Addressing FICCI's 4th Edition of the Tunnels & Bridges Conference 2026 in New Delhi, Gadkari said defective DPRs were a major concern for highway projects. He alleged that some consultants prepare DPRs using information from Google instead of carrying out proper technical assessments, which can result in losses of life and property.
Gadkari said India records around five lakh road accidents and 1.8 lakh deaths, and linked many of these incidents to problems arising from defective DPRs.
He also warned contractors against reducing construction quality after securing infrastructure projects. He said contractors would face both performance and financial audits, with the results being used to determine penalties and possible blacklisting.
The minister said contractors and DPR consultants would also receive ratings based on their performance. These ratings would be considered while deciding whether they would be allowed to participate in future government bids.
The ministry will also review existing provisions governing subcontracting of highway works. The review is aimed at ensuring that contractual conditions are followed and that responsibility for construction quality and timely completion remains clearly with the principal contractor.
According to FICCI, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is preparing tunnel tenders worth INR 2 lakh crore to INR 2.5 lakh crore. Gadkari urged the industry to increase domestic manufacturing of tunnel boring machines, pointing to their high capital cost as a major constraint. He also called for a technical session on ultra-high performance concrete.
At the conference, S Paramasivan, Chairman of the FICCI Committee on Roads & Highways and Managing Director of Afcons Infrastructure, raised concerns over the industry's tendering practices.
Paramasivan said the widespread use of L1, or lowest-bid, selection was resulting in tenders being awarded at prices 20 per cent or more below the estimated project cost. According to him, this was putting pressure on the commercial viability of projects as well as execution quality.
He said quality-cum-cost based selection provisions already exist with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways but are not being used widely. Paramasivan called for the method to become the preferred approach for complex projects and projects valued above INR 1,000 crore, with technical parameters carrying a 70 to 80 per cent weightage.
Source PTI
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