NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued a comprehensive digital engagement framework to improve the handling of complaints on social media, strengthen accountability and counter misinformation related to national highways.
The new Social Media Engagement and Online Reputation Management (ORM) guidelines require NHAI officials, including field offices and regional units, to monitor, verify and respond to complaints posted on digital platforms with factual, evidence-based information.
The policy covers all official communication on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and other digital platforms.
Instead of merely acknowledging complaints, officials have been directed to verify issues on the ground, take corrective action wherever required and update complainants with factual responses supported by evidence.
“In the contemporary digital ecosystem, social media play a significant role in shaping public discourse and perception regarding Government institutions and infrastructure projects. While these platforms facilitate citizen engagement and dissemination of information, they also enable rapid circulation of misinformation, selective narratives, trolling and reputational attacks that may adversely impact institutional credibility…Considering the strategic importance of national highway infrastructure and the public visibility associated with NHAI's activities, it is essential to establish a structured framework for social media engagement and ORM,” officials said.
The guidelines state that while NHAI should maintain transparency in its communication, officials must not share confidential, sensitive or unverified information. Responses to citizens should be factual and based only on verified information.
To streamline grievance redressal, NHAI has directed that operational complaints received on social media should gradually be redirected to its Rajmargyatra App, where issues can be tracked and resolved through an established mechanism.
Under the framework, the Media Relations Division at NHAI headquarters in New Delhi will oversee all social media communication. Regional Offices will act as the first responders for complaints within their jurisdictions. They have been directed to continuously monitor social media, coordinate with Project Implementation Units (PIUs) for verification, respond to local issues and share approved project information. Sensitive or high-risk matters must be immediately escalated to headquarters.
At the field level, PIUs have been tasked with physically verifying complaints, inspecting reported issues, collecting photographs and videos, and providing factual inputs to regional offices and headquarters for preparing accurate public responses.