NHAI debars CDS infra projects for faulty construction on Amritsar-Jamnagar Expressway

The National Highways Authority of India has debarred CDS Infra Projects from participating in current and future national highway projects with effect from July 2 after cracks and settlements appeared in a small section of the under construction Sanchore–Santalpur portion of Amritsar-Jamnagar Expressway and instructed the contractor to rectify all defects at their own cost.

Besides, it has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 2.8 crore while issuing a show cause notice against the contractor, debarred authority engineer SA Infra in association with Upham and suspended NHAI project director (Palanpur) for faulty construction.

Independent expert committees from IIT-BHU, IIT-Delhi, and IIT-Gandhinagar have been constituted to carry out detailed site inspections, testing, and to provide scientific recommendations, a government official said.


As per the official, immediate remedial action has been initiated in the affected areas based on the recommendations of expert teams in view of the ongoing traffic movement along the corridor.

“The contractor has been instructed to rectify all defects at their own cost, specialized technical teams have been mobilized, and restoration works using appropriate machinery are currently underway,” the official said, adding the immediate restoration work including rectification of bitumen surface shall be done in next 10 days, subject to availability of dry spell.

The preliminary assessment suggests that the failure of pavement crust is due to poor quality of aggregate interlayer (AIL), cement treated base (CTB), poor drainage and improper or cosmetic repairs carried out previously.