Nitin Gadkari Orders Action Against Contractors for Delays and Poor Quality in Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway Concrete Work

Vasai: Union Minister for Transport and National Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has instructed the officers of the National Highway Authority to complete the concrete work of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway on time. He also directed that if any contractor fails to maintain the quality of the work, strict action will be taken against them.

The concrete work on the 121 km stretch of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway began in December 2023. Regarding the quality of the work and the traffic issues arising from it, Members of Parliament had met with the Union Minister. During the meeting, they discussed other matters related to the transport department as well.

While the concrete work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway is ongoing, several issues have arisen due to poor quality control. In many places, the concrete layer on the road surface is deteriorating, and the road level is uneven, causing vehicles to have difficulty navigating. There have been reports of accidents, poor lighting on flyovers, weak quality of service roads, traffic jams, and ongoing work on flyovers. In this context, Nitin Gadkari instructed senior officers of the National Highway Authority to investigate complaints and take action against those found responsible for the delays and poor quality.

National Highway Project Director, Suhas Chitnis, stated that out of the 121 km stretch, 81 km of concrete work has been completed. The concrete work on the roads and flyovers is expected to be completed by April 2025. At the same time, concrete work is ongoing at six locations, and special monitoring teams have been set up to ensure the quality of work.

It was also brought to the attention of the Minister that despite the Palghar-Jawhar-Tryambakeshwar-Ghoti-Sinnar road being declared a national highway (160A) in 2016, land acquisition for road widening and clearing forest land for the project has not been completed. Necessary steps will be taken for these pending issues.

Collector’s Inspection: The work on the Mumbai-Baroda Expressway is progressing at a good pace, though it has faced delays at certain places due to land acquisition issues. Collector Govind Bodke, along with relevant sub-divisional officers and revenue officials, has conducted inspections to resolve the land acquisition problems and expedite the process.