NHAI Cracks Down On Contractor And Officials Over Pavement Failures On Amritsar-Jamnagar Corridor In Gujarat

Following alarming pavement damage reported along the Amritsar-Jamnagar Economic Corridor in Gujarat, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken stern disciplinary measures against CDS Infra Projects Limited and its own engineering oversight team, according to a Business Today report.

The issue surfaced when images of fractured road stretches on the Sanchore-Santalpur segment of National Highway-754K began circulating on social media, spurring the authority into immediate action.

The impacted section lies within Package-4 of the 130 km, six-lane corridor, where distress was detected on roughly 1.35 km of the left carriageway across ten spots, and about 1.36 km on the right carriageway at five locations between Kilana and Santalpur.

In response, the NHAI Chairman called an emergency review on 25 June, during which the contractor assured immediate rectification by deploying extra resources.

Subsequently, a fact-finding team, including senior NHAI officials and technical experts such as Prof Ankit Gupta (IIT-BHU) and Dr K Mohan Krishna (IIT-Gandhinagar), visited the site between 26 and 29 June under the guidance of Professor GV Rao, former HoD of Civil Engineering at IIT Delhi.

Initial assessments pointed to significant construction flaws, citing substandard materials in the Aggregate Interlayer (AIL) and Cement Treated Base (CTB), poor drainage systems, and inadequate previous repairs that were merely superficial rather than structural.

Based on these preliminary findings, NHAI imposed strict penalties on 2 July.

The contractor, M/s CDS Infra Projects Limited, was suspended from participating in current and future bids for one month or until they demonstrate that their construction methods comply with Indian Roads Congress (IRC) and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) specifications.

A Show Cause Notice has also been issued for a monetary penalty of Rs 2.8 crore and possible debarment of up to one year.

Simultaneously, the Authority’s Engineer has been suspended for a month and served a Show Cause Notice for possible debarment of two years, while the Project Director in Palanpur (NHAI) has also been suspended for failing to exercise adequate oversight.

The contractor has commenced rectification work on the site at their own risk and cost.

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