Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said consultants involved in preparing defective detailed project reports (DPRs) are "culprits" behind accidents and deaths on highways, warning contractors of blacklisting and other action for compromising construction quality.
The minister's warning has come amid reports that his ministry is preparing tunnel tenders worth Rs 2 lakh crore to Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
Addressing industry body FICCI's 4th Edition of Tunnels & Bridges Conference 2026 in the national capital, the road, transport and highways minister termed the makers of defective DPRs as "culprits" and alleged that consultants prepare these documents with the help of Google, causing loss of life and property.
"Such poor-quality DPRs mean that today on roads, 5 lakh accidents occur, and 1.8 lakh deaths, and all have the problem of defective DPRs," Gadkari said.
The minister also cautioned contractors against compromising on construction quality after bagging an infrastructure project.
There will be a performance audit besides a financial audit, and based on the results, the contractors will be punished and black-listed, he said.
Due to all this, economic loss happens, and people are losing lives in road accidents, he said.
Gadkari further said that ratings will be given to contractors and DPR consultants based on which it will be decided whether to allow them to participate in future bids or not.
The minister further said that his ministry would review the existing provisions governing subcontracting of highway works to ensure that contractual requirements are strictly adhered to and that responsibility for quality and timely execution remains clearly with the principal contractor.
According to FICCI, the Union Road Transport & Highways is preparing tunnel tenders worth Rs 2 lakh crore to Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
Gadkari encouraged the industry to lead on domestic manufacture of tunnel boring machines, whose capital cost he identified as a binding constraint, and to convene a technical session on ultra-high performance concrete, FICCI said.
In his address, S Paramasivan, Chair, FICCI Committee on Roads & Highways placed four industry concerns before the Minister.
Paramasivan, who is also the Managing Director, Afcons Infrastructure, said the predominant use of L1, or lowest-bid, award was producing tenders 20 per cent or more below estimated cost, putting commercial viability and execution quality under pressure.
"Provisions for quality-cum-cost based selection already exist at the finance ministry and MoRTH but see little use, he said, urging their adoption as the preferred method for complex projects and those above Rs 1,000 crore, with technical parameters weighted at 70 to 80 per cent," he said.
(With inputs from PTI)