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NHAI Debars Concessionaire Over Slope Protection Works
In a strong message underscoring the importance of structural integrity and concessionaire accountability, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), through its press release dated June 17, 2025, has debarred M/s Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd. (MEIL) and its promoter from participating in future bids for a period of one year. The decision comes in the wake of the collapse of slope protection works on the Chengala-Naleeshwaram section of National Highway-66 (NH-66) in Kasargod district, Kerala, reported on June 16, 2025.
The collapse was caused by a combination of improper design, inadequate slope protection measures, and a poorly designed drainage system. These findings point to serious lapses in both planning and execution on the part of the concessionaire. The project, executed under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), mandates that the concessionaire maintain the highway for 15 years. MEIL will now be required to reconstruct the damaged slope protection works at its own cost. In addition to the debarment, a show cause notice has been issued initiating debarment proceedings, giving 15 days’ time to respond. A monetary penalty of up to ₹9 crore has also been levied for failure to execute critical safety measures.
This disciplinary action is aimed not merely at punitive enforcement but also at deterrence for future violations of safety and design protocols in highway development projects.
To assess the broader implications and prevent recurrence, NHAI has constituted a multidisciplinary expert committee comprising of:
- A senior scientist from the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI),
- A retired professor from IIT-Palakkad, and
- Experts from the Geological Survey of India (GSI).
The committee is tasked with conducting a comprehensive site visit and design audit of the affected project, reviewing construction standards, geological conditions, and slope stabilization techniques. It will also propose detailed remedial measures for the Chengala-Naleeshwaram stretch and other similarly vulnerable locations across Kerala.
Recently, NHAI suspended KNR Constructions, the concessionaire responsible for a failed NH-66 stretch in Kooriyad, Malappuram district, leading to the suspension of the project director and termination of a site engineer, reflecting NHAI’s increasing emphasis on personal accountability within project execution teams.
The debarment of MEIL underlines NHAI’s evolving stance toward contractual enforcement and performance-based regulation in public infrastructure contracts. Under the HAM model, where the private entity is entrusted with long-term maintenance, such lapses carry significant legal consequences both in terms of contractual breaches and potential tort liability in case of third-party harm.
The action also raises questions about monitoring mechanisms during the construction and post-construction phases of HAM projects. It remains to be seen whether the findings of the expert committee will lead to the revised slope stability guidelines, enhanced real-time monitoring protocols, or perhaps the incorporation of geotechnical audits as a part of the performance evaluation during the O&M phase.
