NEW DELHI: To keep a tab on quality of construction of national highways, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started special quality inspections of 17 under-construction projects for which it had received lower bids than the estimated cost by over 15 per cent.
The first round of inspections is scheduled to be completed by December. Another round of inspection will be carried out after six months with different experts.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said that the exercise is to strengthen quality control and ensure adherence to the highest quality standards.
“The inspections are in addition to NHAI’s regular quality checks and are aimed at identifying any quality-related issues at an early stage so that corrective action can be taken on time… NHAI will re-inspect the identified projects after 6 months with a different team of experts to ensure quality and adherence to construction standards,” said ministry officials.
The 17 projects have been selected based on g three criteria; construction cost of more than Rs 500 crore, tender discount of over 15 percent and physical progress between 35 and 80 percent. These criteria help focus quality checks on projects that are at an important stage of construction and adopt an objective, data-driven approach, added the officials.
The selected projects for the quality check include greenfield and access-controlled corridors, bypasses, as well as four and six laning works in the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
In order to reinforce quality mechanisms and ensure compliance, NHAI has created a pool of experts. The inspections will be carried out by specialised teams led by 39 experienced and retired engineers from various government organisations, including the MoRTH, Ministry of Defence and State Public Works Departments. Technical experts will also support the teams during the inspections.
“The teams will check construction work against approved drawings, technical specifications, contract conditions and project-specific quality plans. They will examine the quality of construction materials, workmanship, construction methods as well as records of sampling and testing,” said ministry officials.
The inspections will also cover road safety measures, traffic management and environmental safeguards, wherever applicable. “Any work that does not meet the required standards will be identified and followed up for corrective action as per the applicable contract provisions.
The specialised inspections will also help NHAI to identify common quality issues, construction practices and areas where greater accountability is required from contractors, consultants and other project stakeholders,” added the ministry officials.
