The project office seeks third-party review of highway and railway projects; the Ministry of Highways requires research on construction in the GQ era

NEW DELHI: As the pace of construction and laying of new road and rail corridors gathers pace, the PMO has directed the Ministry of Road Transport and Railways to introduce independent third-party audits to ensure quality work. They have also been asked to eliminate delays in project execution.TOI learned that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi The Ministry of Roads and Transport was also asked to study the construction practices of the Golden Quadrangle era and note why there were few quality-related complaints during the execution of the country’s first flagship highway development programme.The PMO also recommended that the ministry study Indonesia’s practice of third-party independent auditing, which would institutionalize mechanisms to improve quality and accountability in large-scale infrastructure projects. Last year, Malaysia also introduced “external auditing” for this purpose.Considering the high investment in these areas, both ministries have been directed to take steps to expedite the movement of trains and vehicles on their corridors. According to the directive, the highways ministry will identify constraints and gaps that result in cargo trucks operating at an average speed of around 50 km/h (instead of the ideal 70 km/h) on high-speed corridors and address these issues. Similarly, the Railways will set phased targets to increase train speed on the corridor from 110 km/h to 130 km/h and further to 160 km/h and 200 km/h.Officials involved in the highway project acknowledged the need to focus on quality issues given that the next phase of highway development will have more highways and economic corridors to speed up freight and passenger transport.They added that the ministry had identified quality-related issues and was starting to address them. Amending the highway construction timetable in contract documents to three years from the current 2-2.5 years and eliminating early completion bonuses for contractors are the first steps we are taking.Engineers who have been involved in the GQ and current highway projects said that although the scale of construction in this phase was small, the quality of materials and work was strictly monitored. “The authoritative engineers and consultants are mostly from abroad and they will not compromise on quality. There are big and credible highway builders and even government engineers are strict about quality,” said a former NHAI member.In fact, the head of a major highway construction company, while participating in a quality improvement meeting chaired by senior officials, shared how during the implementation of GQ, government engineers and consultants would not budge under the pressure of any quality compromise.“Objective and strict monitoring of materials and construction quality by on-site personnel is the only solution. We must allow enough time for the preparation of project reports and construction rather than rushing to complete it,” said a regulatory official.A former highways commissioner says construction quality has taken a back seat to the sudden increase in the number of highway builders, including many who signed subcontracting and maintenance contracts early on.“Good engineers and independent consultants who oversee projects face rigorous pressure from all sides, and contractors often complain about them. It should be clear that the authorities will not let these people cause mischief and will support competent government employees and consultants. We also need to have more reliable quality inspection bodies that will not compromise at any cost,” he added.