11 road ministry officials removed over highway collapses: Gadkari
Gadkari Announces Disciplinary Action Against 22 Officials Following Highway Failures
Bharatmorningnews.com – Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari revealed that twenty-two officers have faced consequences due to infrastructure breakdowns on national highways. During a Rajya Sabha session on Wednesday, the minister disclosed that eleven personnel were removed from their positions while another eleven received disciplinary measures for negligence and failure to perform their duties.
The actions stem from multiple incidents of collapses, cave-ins, and structural problems affecting newly built highway projects throughout 2025 and 2026. Gadkari was responding to questions posed by Shiva Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut regarding the widespread failures.
Incidents Span Nine States
The minister outlined nineteen separate occurrences across Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Meghalaya. These failures involved bridges, flyovers, and various highway structures in multiple regions.
Contractors, concessionaires, and consultants also faced consequences. Depending on the severity of deficiencies, firms experienced contract terminations, financial penalties, debarment, blacklisting, or were declared non-performers.
Delhi-Dehradun Expressway Cave-In Details
Addressing a specific question about the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway incident, Gadkari explained that the affected area developed two potholes. The contractor corrected these issues at its own expense as required by contractual terms.
The failure was attributed to localized waterlogging. Resistance at the site delayed drainage connections and slope protection works, which led to water accumulation during heavy rainfall.
Show-cause notices were issued to both the authority’s third-party engineer and the contractor. Additionally, the team leader of the authority engineer and the contractor’s project manager have been suspended from duty.
Audit and Prevention Framework
An independent structural and pavement audit of the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor was conducted jointly by the Central Road Research Institute and IIT Roorkee.
The ministry emphasized that the National Highways Authority of India maintains an existing framework requiring independent road safety audits, preventive structural inspections, and expert committees to investigate any structural failure. Preliminary reports must be submitted within three days, while final reports are due within seven days.
Among the broader measures implemented were penalties, suspension of project officials, termination of engineers, debarment of contractors and independent engineering firms, and reconstruction work carried out at the contractors’ expense.