The Minister of Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, stated on Tuesday that every pothole will be accounted for, warning contractors and consultants about strict measures, including blacklisting, bans, and fines, which could negatively affect their business and lower stock prices.
Speaking at a conference organized by the industry body CII, Gadkari reported that he personally monitored the condition of highways over the past few months. He noted that social media posts helped identify quality issues on sections of the routes and urged the public to continue reporting such problems on social media so that officials cannot hide them. He emphasized that contractors, consultants, and officials are now concerned about being blacklisted and the fall in stock value.
The Minister assured that he would review all projects and would not compromise on quality. He also stated that thanks to his meticulous control, similar problems have been reduced by 30%. Furthermore, he mentioned that vehicles used for surveying the network (NSV), deployed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, record quality-related issues, documenting every pothole.
Moreover, Gadkari announced that he instructed officials to adopt a more lenient approach to speeding on expressways, for example, by not issuing fines to vehicles traveling at 120 km/h. He clarified that if someone exceeds the speed limit by more than 20%, they should be allowed to continue driving, and a fine should only be issued if this threshold is exceeded.