Fresh setback for Delhi–Mumbai Expressway as NHAI flags contractor's 'continued non-performance'

The notice, issued on Wednesday, pertains to a 35-km stretch where construction has barely progressed, with physical and financial achievements stuck at around 4.9 per cent and 4.6 per cent of the stipulated targets

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has served an “intention to termination notice” on Roadways Solutions India Infra Ltd (RSIL) over prolonged delays in executing a crucial segment of the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway in Gujarat, a Times of India report said on Thursday. This development that adds pressure to India’s flagship highway project.

The notice, issued on Wednesday, pertains to a 35-km stretch where construction has barely progressed, with physical and financial achievements stuck at around 4.9 per cent and 4.6 per cent of the stipulated targets, the Times of India said.

Senior NHAI officials told the Times of India that the scale of delay on this section is significant enough to push the revised completion timeline of the expressway beyond March 2028. The report, authored by Dipak K Dash, highlighted concerns within the authority over repeated slippages despite multiple interventions.

RSIL, a Pune-based infrastructure firm specialising in road and highway projects, had won several packages of the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway in Gujarat in 2021. As per the Times of India, the company is responsible for three stretches totalling 87 km in the state.

Progress across these packages has remained inconsistent. While work on the 35-km stretch has been negligible, two other sections measuring 27 km and 25 km have reached only about 23 per cent and 36 per cent completion, respectively, the Times of India reported. The sluggish execution has turned into a key bottleneck for the mega expressway project, which is estimated to cost over Rs 1 lakh crore.

In its formal communication, NHAI cited “absolute and continued non-performance” as the grounds for initiating the final step before termination. The Times of India noted that the authority pointed out that despite repeated extensions and three settlement agreements, RSIL had achieved financial progress of just 4.59 per cent even after 16 months from the appointed date of August 31, 2024.