Extreme weather is stress-testing India's billion-dollar infrastructure drive

Time of India

2 days ago

Indian monsoons
this year — the earliest onset since 2009 — damaged new public infrastructure across the country, putting pressure on Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
's push for an infrastructure upgrade in the world's fifth-largest economy.
A recently inaugurated
underground metro line in the commercial hub of Mumbai was flooded
after the city was lashed by record heavy rains on May 26. The city's Metro Line 3, a $2.7 billion state-run project, saw rainwater enter its Acharya Atre Chowk station through a broken barrier, disrupting train services.
About 700 miles to the south, a section of an under-construction elevated national highway passing through Malappuram in the state of Kerala caved in on May 19 after structural damage from rains. At least six people were injured after cement blocks and debris came crashing down, according to local media reports.
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In northeast India, incessant rains triggered landslides, putting about 1,500 tourists at risk, after the monsoon hit several states last week. A portion of the under-construction Sankalang bridge in Sikkim was swept away while Phidang bridge in the state was partially damaged after a river overflowed.
Erratic and extreme weather events are testing the quality and durability of India's billion-dollar projects. Modi's government has shored up investment in the world's most-populous nation by building roads, highways, bridges and airports, committing to a capital expenditure of 11.2 trillion rupees ($131 billion) for the year ended March 2026.
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The India Meteorological Department declared monsoon onset on May 24, eight days ahead of schedule. The southwest monsoon season, which brings more than 70% of India's annual rainfall, is expected to see above average downpour this year.
Damage to infrastructure from weather 'is a recurring phenomenon for the last 10 years,' Niranjan Sahoo, a senior fellow at Observer Research Foundation, said. 'This is due to government inefficiencies and a reactive approach' toward extreme weather events, he added.
After the highway collapse in Kerala, the National Highway Authority of India suspended the project head, saying the incident occurred due to 'negligence' of the contractor and banning it from future biddings in a May 22 statement.
Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation's Managing Director Ashwini Bhide spoke to local media after the May 26 incident, saying the station was completely safe and calling the flooding a rare occurrence.
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This is not the first monsoon to test India's newer structures. Last year, heavy rains forced officials to pause operations at Delhi Airport's newly renovated Terminal 1, after an outdoor metal canopy collapsed killing one person and injuring eight.
'There is a need for a protocol and an early warning system to avoid such damage,' said Amal Chandra, principal public policy officer of the main opposition party
Indian National Congress
in Kerala. 'While approving infrastructure projects, the government also needs awareness of regions at risk of extreme weather events.'
India is ranked sixth among countries most affected by extreme weather, according to the 2025 Climate Risk Index report by Germanwatch. The world's fastest-growing major economy has experienced more than 400 extreme weather events over three decades ending 2022, which have led to nearly $180 billion in economic losses and at least 80,000 fatalities, the report said.
'There is a lack of trained people and institutions for infrastructure governance,' Sahoo said. 'Policy is not moving to prepare for climate resilience.'