The Center on Wednesday overhauled the rules governing national highway projects in hilly regions, with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) scrapping incentives for early project completion, mandating that freshly cut slopes must withstand at least one monsoon season before final roads are constructed, and imposing stricter geological investigations and slope monitoring measures.
The amendments apply to Model Contract Documents for Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Consultative Framework for Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), issued through a Circular, which apply to future national highway projects and centrally sponsored road projects in hilly areas, issued through a Circular, and seek to address concerns that aggressive hill cutting and speed-based construction have contributed to slope instability, erosion and frequent disasters.
Under current EPC contracts, contractors are entitled to a bonus of 0.03% of the contract value for each day the project is completed ahead of schedule. The ministry has removed this requirement for projects in mountainous areas, signaling a shift away from speed-based implementation in geologically sensitive areas.
With these changes, the Ministry of Housing and Rural Development institutionalized the elimination of financial incentives for early completion of projects in hilly terrain and made it mandatory for freshly cut slopes to pass through at least one monsoon season before final road works can begin.
The revised standards come amid growing concerns about the impact of large-scale cutting of hills for road expansion and expansion projects and the resulting disasters.
The rapid expansion of highways through extensive mechanical cutting of slopes has led to slope destabilization and erosion in several locations, the ministry said in a circular issued on Wednesday. One of the major changes is the introduction of a phased construction sequence.
Contractors will be required to limit the initial phase of work to cutting formations and defining slopes. Paving works and other permanent structures can only be carried out after the slopes remain stable during at least one monsoon season. The changes will also change how contractors are paid. Several phases of repayment have been linked to slope protection and stabilization measures, including filling tension cracks, installing soil nails, rock nails and ground anchors, and constructing drainage systems designed to prevent water-induced slope collapse.
The ministry also tightened requirements for geological investigations and slope monitoring. Detailed project surveys will now have to use Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-based mapping and drone surveys covering a 300-metre-wide corridor.
In addition, projects will be needed to deploy interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technology to detect subtle ground movements that can indicate slope instability.
Permanent observation bases should also be installed on weak slopes to monitor movement during construction. For deep sections exceeding six metres, borehole investigations must now extend at least five meters into the appropriate foundation before designs can be finalised. Any proposal by the contractor to modify the slope protection measures adopted during implementation will require scrutiny by independent institutions such as the Geological Survey of India or Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited, according to the circular.
The ministry has directed the implementing agencies, including the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and Border Roads Organization (BRO), to incorporate the revised provisions in tender documents before inviting bids for new projects.
The ministry said that although some of these changes were proposed earlier through circulars, they were not implemented.
Separately, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday said efforts to remove unauthorized parking and encroachments along national highway corridors have been intensified following the Supreme Court order in April.
For this reason, NHAI is coordinating with state governments and local authorities to take enforcement action at 595 high-priority locations. Field offices have been directed to review Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) installations and ensure that traffic monitoring cameras, accident detection systems, variable message signs and emergency call boxes are functional, NHAI said.
Priority is also being given to enhancing highway patrols, deploying ambulances and rescue vehicles, and close coordination with law enforcement agencies.
