Contractors will now be penalized for repeat accidents on national-highways
What's the story
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has decided to impose penalties on contractors, if more than one accident occurs in a year on a stretch of national highways, constructed under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. The decision was announced by Road Transport and Highways Secretary V Umashankar. He said the BOT document has been revised, making it mandatory for contractors to manage crashes and take corrective measures after multiple accidents within a specified period.
Penalty
Penalty will double in subsequent year
Umashankar revealed that if more than one accident occurs within a 500-meter stretch, the contractor will be fined ₹25 lakh. If another accident occurs in the following year, the penalty will double to ₹50 lakh. The highways ministry has identified 3,500 such accident-prone areas across India. National highways projects are mainly executed through three models: BOT, hybrid annuity model (HAM), and engineering procurement and construction (EPC).
Project details
Types of National Highway projects
The concession period for BOT projects, including maintenance, ranges from 15 to 20 years. In contrast, HAM projects have a concession period of 15 years. The concessionaire is responsible for maintaining NH stretches during the concession period. For EPC projects, the defect liability period is five years for bituminous pavements and 10 years for concrete pavements.
Treatment scheme
Cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims
Additionally, Umashankar announced that a cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims will soon be launched across India. The scheme was first launched as a pilot in Chandigarh on March 14, 2024, and has since been extended to six states. Under this initiative, road accident victims can avail cashless treatment up to ₹1.5 lakh for the first seven days at designated hospitals.