Highway projects to soon have details of contractors, officers: Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi: To fix accountability and transparency in constructing highways, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said commuters on national highways will soon be able to access necessary details of contractors and officers concerned including their name, address and mobile numbers.

"Let the public know who constructed roads and which officer supervises it," Gadkari said while addressing a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

Gadkari said there will be a system by scanning which one can easily get all information related to the project so in case of any inconvenience one would know "who is responsible for this".

The minister also said the government is doing performance audits of road projects and will not hesitate in taking action against those responsible including contractors and the NHAI officials.

The Minister's statement follows NHAI's October 3 announcement saying it will install project information sign boards with quick response (QR) codes along the National Highway stretches to provide relevant information and emergency helpline numbers to commuters.

Gadkari also said that India’s annual toll collection could more than double to Rs 1,40,000 crore in next two years from Rs 55,000 crore now as the government aims to build world-class road infrastructure.

He also spoke about a comprehensive plan for 2027 to utilise legacy waste. The plan includes sustainable initiatives such as the use of 80 lakh tonnes of segregated plastic waste in road construction and reuse of treated water from purification plants for road building.

"Infra should be comfortable for people. We built 670 roadside amenities. It is to provide facilities to commuters. There is a defect liability of 10 years when a contractor signs a project. In case of any issue, the officer concerned must also ensure that the project is in good condition," he said.

He stressed the need to curb pollution and promote sustainable, eco-friendly and resilient development, noting that 8,500 trees have been transplanted along the Dwarka Expressway as part of the government's green initiative.

He added a comprehensive plan for 2027 was discussed in the Cabinet, which includes sustainable initiatives such as the use of 80 lakh tonnes of segregated plastic waste in road construction and reuse of treated water from purification plants for road building.