The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday issued a policy circular setting out the framework for social media engagement and online reputation management. It requires its officials to monitor online discussions on national highways daily and direct citizens to NHAI’s Rajmargyatra app to register complaints instead of treating social media as the primary platform for redressal of grievances.
The policy, intended for the NHAI headquarters, regional offices and project implementation units, formalizes how officials will monitor, verify and respond to social media posts related to national highways, including those related to toll plazas, FASTag, accidents, potholes, maintenance and road safety. She says the increasing influence of digital platforms has made it necessary to adopt a structured communication framework to counter misinformation and engage with the public in a coordinated manner.
Under this framework, the Authority’s headquarters will oversee the Authority’s online reputation management strategy, coordinate responses during crises and disinformation campaigns, and issue contact warnings. The regional offices will monitor local issues at the first level, verify facts with field units and escalate sensitive issues to headquarters, while the project implementation units will provide ground-level verification and operational inputs.
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The circular stipulates continuous monitoring of social media platforms on mentions of NHAI, comments on its posts, emerging narratives and complaints related to toll tolls, FASTag, accidents, potholes and highway maintenance. Routine monitoring will be conducted daily from 6am to 10pm, including weekends and national holidays, while major incidents and crisis situations will require 24/7 monitoring until the situation stabilizes.
One of the key provisions of the policy states that citizens who post actionable grievances on social media should be directed to the Rajmargyatra app, where grievances can be registered through a ticket-based system for tracking and resolution.
The framework also describes standard operating procedures for dealing with misinformation and fake news.
Officials have been asked to check facts internally before issuing clarifications based on official records, avoid speculative or confrontational responses, and issue factual corrections, when necessary, using the #FactCheck hashtag.
The circular says that all public communications should be factual, verified, and consistent across the organization.
