Nitin Gadkari warns of blacklisting for poor highway construction

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has warned that contractors, consultants, and officials responsible for substandard highway quality will face blacklisting and stringent penalties. Speaking at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conference in New Delhi, Gadkari emphasized that the ministry is intensifying monitoring through technology, including the use of Network Surveillance Vehicles (NSVs) to automate road-condition assessments.

Gadkari noted that social media feedback has already assisted in identifying road defects, contributing to a 30 percent drop in reported problems. He urged the public to continue reporting issues online.

Additionally, the minister proposed a 20 percent tolerance margin for speeding violations on expressways. Under this proposal, motorists would not receive speeding notices for exceeding the prescribed limit by a small margin—for example, on a 120kph expressway, penalties would only apply if a vehicle exceeds 144kph. He clarified that this does not constitute an official increase in speed limits but is intended to reduce penalties for minor infractions.