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The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways plans to tighten accountability among highway contractors and consultants following concerns over excessive subcontracting and defective project planning. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday, 19 August, that contractors resorting to multiple layers of subcontracting could face blacklisting for two to three years. The ministry also plans to assess contractors and Detailed Project Report consultants through performance ratings and audits. Gadkari said defective DPRs and poor planning were contributing to highway accidents and fatalities. The ministry is also reviewing subcontracting provisions and considering international standards for preparing major project reports.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is planning stricter action against highway contractors and consultants over excessive subcontracting and defective project planning, with Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari warning on Wednesday, 19 August, that firms compromising construction quality could be blacklisted. The measures were outlined at the fourth edition of the FICCI Tunnels and Bridges Conference 2026 in New Delhi, where the minister also raised concerns about the quality of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs).
Gadkari said the ministry would use Goods and Services Tax (GST) payment trails to identify contractors involved in multiple layers of subcontracting. He warned that developers resorting to what he described as illicit multi-tier subcontracting could face bans of two to three years. The government also plans to publicise blacklisted developers, while the minister said conventional monetary penalties running into only a few lakh rupees had not proved sufficient as a deterrent.
The minister cited instances where contracts were awarded at substantially lower prices than estimated project costs and were subsequently passed through several layers of subcontractors. According to him, each intermediary retained a margin, leaving less value for actual construction and potentially affecting road quality. The ministry is therefore reviewing existing provisions governing subcontracting of highway works, with the objective of ensuring contractual requirements are followed and that responsibility for quality and timely execution remains with the principal contractor.
Gadkari also criticised the preparation of defective DPRs, saying consultants responsible for poor project planning were contributing to accidents and deaths on highways. He alleged that some DPRs were prepared without adequate site visits and, in some cases, with the help of information sourced from Google rather than detailed ground-level assessment. He cited approximately five lakh road accidents and 1.8 lakh deaths annually while linking defective planning and project reports to road safety concerns.
The ministry has begun extending its contractor performance assessment to consultants responsible for DPR preparation. Gadkari said contractors and DPR consultants would receive ratings, which would be used to determine their eligibility for participating in future tenders. Performance audits would be conducted alongside financial audits, and entities found responsible for poor performance could face punishment and blacklisting.
Gadkari further proposed that international agencies or standards could be considered for preparing project reports. For projects valued above INR 1,000 crore, he suggested that the government could require participation by companies with more than 51% foreign ownership, as part of efforts to improve the quality of planning and project preparation.
The minister's remarks came as MoRTH prepared tunnel tenders estimated at INR 2 lakh crore to INR 2.5 lakh crore. He also called for greater domestic manufacturing of tunnel boring machines, identifying their capital cost as a constraint for the sector. Gadkari said he was pursuing discussions with German tunnel boring machine manufacturers to establish facilities in India, with domestic availability of high-quality steel and other requirements being considered.
Industry representatives at the conference also raised concerns over the lowest-bid tendering system. FICCI Committee on Roads and Highways chair S Paramasivan said some tenders were being awarded at prices 20% or more below estimated project costs, creating pressure on commercial viability and execution quality. He called for wider use of quality-cum-cost-based selection, particularly for complex infrastructure projects and those valued above INR 1,000 crore.
Source- PTI
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