NEW DELHI: To ensure hassle-free travel for highway users and smooth operation, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has made weekly inspections of toll plazas, their adjoining administrative blocks and public amenities mandatory to ensure regular maintenance and effective monitoring of services. The Authority will issue show-cause notices for any shortcomings and impose penalties if the deficiencies are not rectified within the stipulated time.
If the deficiencies are not removed and the number of notices exceeds a limit of 10 per cent of the number of fee plazas being operated by the User Fee Collection Agency (UFCA), the concerned operator will be declared a non-performer and will not be eligible to submit bids for toll plazas, civil works or any other tender for a period of 15 days or until such issues are resolved.
This latest arrangement for monitoring, enforcement and disqualification of UFCAs for improper upkeep of toilet blocks, fee plazas and toll collection booths has been introduced after frequent reports of poor maintenance of facilities — administrative buildings, surrounding areas and signboards — including the non-availability or non-refurbishment of consumable items and non-compliance with the prescribed provisions and guidelines.
The responsibility for carrying out weekly inspections has been entrusted to the Project Director of the concerned field unit.
“The concerned Project Implementation Unit (PIU)/Field Unit shall inspect at least once a week the condition of toilet blocks at user fee plazas, user fee collection booths, administrative buildings and surrounding areas, and signboards, and identify instances of deficiency/non-compliance with the prescribed SLAs (service level agreements) as per the contractual obligations of UFCA. On identification/reporting of any such instance, the concerned Project Director shall issue a show-cause notice (SCN) to the concerned UFCA, directing rectification of the deficiency within the prescribed/stipulated period as given in the UFCA Agreement,” read a circular.
All notices, along with supporting dated photographs, will also be uploaded on the dedicated portal.
“In cases where the deficiency constitutes a violation of the Contract Agreement/SLA, the Project Director shall impose the applicable penalty, as per the contractual provisions and extant guidelines,” the note also said.
