PAC slams NHAI, seeks comprehensive audit and design overhaul

New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 12 (IANS) The Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has delivered a scathing critique of the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) functioning in Kerala, urging a comprehensive audit of its operations. 

PAC Chairman and Congress's Alappuzha MP K.C.Venugopal said the decision has been made that a CAG audit has to be conducted in the wake of the detailed perusal that was done by the PAC.

The recommendations were outlined in the PAC’s latest report, tabled in Parliament.

The committee called for broad-based consultations during the design phase of highway projects, involving Members of Parliament, other public representatives, and state-level experts.

The report noted that the NHAI itself had admitted to a design flaw at Kooriyad in Malappuram district.

The PAC has recommended strict action against officials responsible for such lapses.

Further, the committee urged that companies found negligent should be blacklisted and barred from receiving future contracts.

The PAC also flagged serious concerns over the awarding of subcontracts at substantially reduced amounts compared to the original tenders.

Citing a striking example, the report revealed that the Kadambattukonam–Kazhakootam stretch of the National Highway was awarded for Rs 3,684 crore, but subcontracted for just Rs 795 crore.

An overall review of Kerala’s highway projects showed that, on average, subcontracts accounted for only 54 per cent of the original tender value.

This sharp difference, the committee warned, could compromise quality and accountability.

The PAC recommended that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways conduct a detailed evaluation of subcontracting practices.

It also stressed the need for the NHAI to have an internal mechanism for preparing and approving project designs, ensuring quality control from inception to execution.

In a significant reform proposal, the PAC suggested creating a dedicated regulatory authority to determine toll rates.

Such a body, it argued, would ensure greater transparency and fairness in toll collection, addressing public grievances over high or arbitrary charges.

The report’s findings are expected to intensify scrutiny of highway development in Kerala, where land acquisition challenges, design disputes, and quality concerns have often delayed projects.

Incidentally, the NH-66 project has been under scrutiny since May this year, when stretches of the under-construction highway collapsed in three districts.

Both state Public Works Minister P.A.Mohammed Riyas and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan faced criticism, notably from Venugopal, who conducted an on-the-spot inspection when the under-construction highway collapsed. Venugopal then accused Vijayan of claiming credit for the project until its collapse and then avoiding a site visit despite being in Malappuram for two days at the time.

In June, in an effort to control the political damage, Vijayan and Riyas rushed to Delhi and secured an assurance from Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari that the damaged stretches would be rebuilt and the entire project would be completed on time -- to be handed over as a "New Year gift" for Kerala.

Now with PAC asking for an immediate CAG audit, this is going to be one which will see the erstwhile political rivals taking on one another on the issue.

--IANS

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