4-year delay on 87-km stretch holds up Rs 1-lakh-crore Delhi–Mumbai Expressway

Representative photo

Three relatively short stretches in Gujarat, spanning a combined 87 km, have emerged as a major bottleneck for the 1,386-km Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, a mega infrastructure project being built at a cost of Rs 1.04 lakh crore. The delayed sections were awarded to a Pune-based contractor, causing a disproportionate impact on the overall timeline of the project.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the contractor, Roadway Solutions India Infra Ltd (RSIIL), had secured all three packages in 2021. However, work on two sections was terminated in March 2023 after progress lagged. Despite this, the same stretches were re-awarded to RSIIL in November 2023, after the firm quoted the lowest bid.

Nearly four years later, less than 20 per cent of the 87 km has been completed, raising concerns within the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Frustrated by the slow progress, the NHAI is now considering issuing notices to RSIIL, which may lead to the termination of the contract.

According to the newspaper, Navjeet Gadhoke, Director of RSIIL, attributed the delay to the “non-provision of land by NHAI". However, NHAI officials blamed RSIIL’s non-performance and contractual disputes for the slow work.

The Expressway, which passes through Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, is divided into 53 packages.

The three packages—numbers 8 (Jujuwa-Gandeva), 9 (Karvad-Jujuwa), and 10 (Talsari-Karvad) in the Vadodara-Virar section in Gujarat—were awarded to RSIIL in May, July, and March of 2021, respectively. Work has barely progressed in these sections, even as the rest of the Expressway in Gujarat is nearly complete.

NHAI first cancelled the contracts for Jujuwa-Gandeva and Karvad-Jujuwa in March 2023 due to delays and issued a new tender. RSIIL participated in the tender again and secured the contract in November 2023 with the lowest bid.

A MoRTH official said RSIIL should not have gotten the contract the second time. When asked this question, a senior NHAI official said, “We cannot stop them from participating in the tender."

RSIIL contended that the termination of the two packages was “illegal." “After rebidding the same works again, NHAI had no option but to give these to RSIIL as there was no default by the contractor," Gadhoke was quoted by the IE as saying.