30-07-2025
55 instances of collapse, damage on NHAI roads, bridges, tunnels in 5yrs: Gadkari
New Delhi: A total of 55 cases of collapses or damages were reported on roads, bridges, and tunnel projects executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in the past five years, union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. The details did not include damages in projects taken by state and central agencies other than NHAI, Nitin Gadkari said. (Representative photo)
Responding to a question by Congress lawmaker Digvijaya Singh from Madhya Pradesh on the determination of accountability for damaged roads, Gadkari told the Rajya Sabha, 'Among them, 40 occurred during the construction phase, and the remaining were in completed projects. While there were multiple instances of action against private companies in almost all cases, only two incidents saw disciplinary action against government staff.'
He added that the project director of the PIU (Project Implementation Unit) Palanpur was suspended for poor construction of the six-lane Sanchore–Santalpur section of the 130-km Amritsar–Jamnagar Economic Corridor (NH–754K), and the project director at PIU Nagpur was transferred to the regional office for faulty construction of a flyover on NH-6.
These numbers do not include the accident in the Silkyara Tunnel in November 2023, which killed 41 people, as that project is being executed by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), a separate entity under the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH). 'The details did not include damages in projects taken by state and central agencies other than NHAI,' Gadkari said.
The Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi is a part of the Centre's 900 km Char Dham Yatra All Weather Road, which aims to improve connectivity to the four holy pilgrimage sites.
