The Ministry of Road Transport has criticized the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for initiating construction work and awarding contracts for road widening projects before formal authorization, stating that this is contrary to the law and that NHAI should seek post facto approval for awarded projects. In recent months, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has found itself at the centre of mounting criticism for allegedly sidestepping essential procedural safeguards, sparking widespread concern about environmental integrity, public safety, and institutional accountability. At the heart of this backlash are multiple instances where highway projects
Initiated or even tendered before formal notifications or entrustment, a move that the Road Transport Ministry has explicitly flagged as illegal under the National Highways Act; it has issued stern instructions for retroactive approval of such projects (Highway Project) From Kerala to Himachal Pradesh, local communities have reported dramatic environmental and structural fallout: in northern Kerala, the aggressive widening of NH-66 has led to landslides, cracks, and subsidence, with houses evacuated and hill slopes destabilized impacts attributed to unscientific.
Construction methods that disregarded topographical challenges in monsoon-prone terrain Similarly, in Himachal’s Mandi district, unregulated widening of the Kiratpur-Manali highway has triggered land sinking and collapse of homes, driving families from villages into emergency relocation and revealing a troubling lack of engagement or compensation by NHAI These ground-level crises are further amplified by legal and regulatory ramifications. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed hefty environmental penalties ranging from ₹2 crore.
To ₹45 crore on NHAI projects, citing violations of policies such as compensatory afforestation, dust control, unlawful diversion of forest land, and encroachment of water bodies In Delhi, for instance, NHAI’s failure to sprinkle water to control dust, and non-compliance with the Green Highways Policy during construction near Kampar, resulted in a ₹2 crore fine while in Haryana, large-scale tree felling and habitat destruction under Bharatmala corridors led to a ₹45 crore environmental compensation order Compounding these environmental and procedural issues are allegations of corruption and tender irregularities. The Bharatmala initiative has been named in a Comptroller
Auditor General (CAG) report for awarding contracts without approved DPRs, proper land acquisition, or forest clearances. More recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested an NHAI project director in Warangal for accepting bribes to obstruct a restaurant’s operations an incident exposing a disturbing misuse of authority at the local level Legal scrutiny has not been limited to tribunals. In Kerala, the Supreme Court has taken aim at NHAI’s toll-collection practices, particularly when road conditions are severely degraded and congestion is chronic.
The Court questioned why the public should pay tolls when they are left stranded in traffic for up to 12 hours, likening the situation to under-par urban planning failures even in a metropolitan context like Delhi, where rain disrupts the city completely On another highway stretch in Thrissur, toll collections were temporarily suspended by court order due to poor road conditions, with the Supreme Court slamming NHAI’s inefficiency and calling for immediate remedial action Further, infrastructure projects are derailed by land acquisition disputes Procedural delays. The Delhi–Dehradun Expressway, for example, missed its July 2025 deadline largely due to unresolved legal disputes
Over a land parcel in Ghaziabad, a collapsed pillar issue, and local resistance despite social media outcry and promises of an August launch. In Kerala’s Outer Ring Road project, a high-level meeting ended without progress on the DPR, leaving compensation unpaid for thousands of families an impasse traced back to environmental clearances voided by the Supreme Court and the absence of a functional state environment authority
These developments assemble a disturbing mosaic of systemic failures: lax oversight, environmental recklessness, administrative shortcuts, and social distress all undercutting the public goodwill and transformative promise that national highway projects once commanded. The confluence of judicial interventions, environmental activism, community protests, and regulatory sanctions suggests a pivotal inflection point for (NHAI) it now stands at a crossroads where reform, accountability, and responsible governance are not just desirable but indispensable.
Q1. Why is NHAI facing criticism recently?
NHAI is under fire for allegedly bypassing environmental, safety, and legal norms in highway project approvals.
Q2. Which norms are being overlooked by NHAI?
Critics point to lapses in environmental clearance, land acquisition rules, and public consultation requirements.
Q3. How do such violations affect the public?
Bypassing norms can lead to unsafe highways, environmental damage, and loss of local community rights.
Q4. What action is being demanded from authorities?
Experts and activists urge strict compliance checks, accountability, and greater transparency in NHAI’s processes.
Q5. Has the government responded to these allegations?
The matter is under review, with calls for detailed investigations and stronger enforcement of norms.
