NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is set to empanel experts from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), government technical institutions and other reputed organisations for “proof checking”, an independent third-party verification of design, drawings and hydrological or hydraulic studies of critical structures that are part of a highway project.
The Authority has also prepared detailed guidelines regarding the procedure for “proof checking”, timelines and applicability.
According to officials, existing contract agreements provide for proof checking of designs through “Proof Consultants” for specified structures but differ in respect of the scope of structures covered, the manner of selection or appointment of the consultants and the extent of institutional involvement.
Therefore, to establish a uniform and robust quality assurance framework across all modes of project implementation, NHAI has decided to institutionalize proof checking through reputed technical institutions empanelled for critical structures.
The officials said that bridges are considered critical highway assets with a design service life of 100 years or more; therefore, independent verification of designs is essential to ensure structural safety, serviceability and durability.
“Major bridge structures and other critical or special structures constitute critical highway assets having a long design service life. Independent proof checking of their designs and associated hydrological and hydraulic studies is essential to ensure structural safety, serviceability, durability and compliance with applicable IRC (Indian Roads Congress) Codes, specifications and provisions of the respective contract agreements,” officials said.
Following the development, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be executed with expert technical institutions. The empanelment will be category-based, depending upon the domain expertise of the institution.
The guidelines also lay down the workflow for the selection of proof checkers and final approval.
As per the guidelines, proof checking should be completed within the timeline mutually agreed upon with the contractor or concessionaire. The arrangement will come into force on December 1 and will be applicable to all NHAI projects, irrespective of the contract mode.