The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has introduced stringent penalties for contractors responsible for recurring accidents on national highway stretches, aiming to enhance accountability and road safety amid India's ambitious infrastructure expansion. Announced on November 2, 2025, the policy mandates financial deductions, blacklisting, and suspension of future bids for firms failing to address persistent blackspots or maintenance lapses within stipulated timelines.

This move follows a series of fatal crashes on newly built motorways, where design flaws, poor signage, and inadequate upkeep have been implicated. With national highways spanning over 1.46 lakh kilometres and carrying 40% of road traffic, the ministry seeks to curb the 1.68 lakh annual fatalities—per 2024 NCRB data—by tying contractor performance to safety outcomes.

Under the revised guidelines, contractors must rectify identified hazards within 15 days of notification or face penalties starting at 1% of the project value per incident, escalating to 5% for repeats within a year. Persistent offenders risk debarment for up to three years, effectively barring them from MoRTH tenders worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore annually.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will deploy AI-enabled surveillance and third-party audits to monitor compliance, with real-time data fed into a centralised dashboard. This data-driven approach builds on the ministry's iRAaste app, which has flagged over 5,000 blackspots since 2023, prompting rectifications in 70% of cases.

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The decision stems from public outcry over incidents like the 2025 Delhi-Mumbai Motorway pile-up claiming 12 lives, attributed to missing reflectors and erratic lane markings. MoRTH Secretary Anurag Jain emphasised zero tolerance: "Infrastructure must prioritise lives over timelines." Contractors argue that funding delays and land acquisition issues hamper maintenance, but the ministry counters with escrow mechanisms ensuring dedicated safety budgets. Industry body CREDAI welcomed the framework, viewing it as a catalyst for global-standard practices.

As India targets 2 lakh km of highways by 2030 under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, this penal regime signals a paradigm shift from quantity to quality. With road accidents costing 3% of GDP annually, per World Bank estimates, the policy could save thousands of lives while fostering a competitive, responsible contracting ecosystem. Implementation begins immediately on ongoing projects, setting a precedent for state PWDs to emulate.

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