The Centre has informed the Parliament that National Highway maintenance will now rely on AI-assisted drone surveys, high-resolution imagery, digital inspections, and real-time mobile reporting—marking one of the biggest technology upgrades in India’s highway monitoring system.
To streamline inspections, officials will upload geo-tagged, time-stamped photographs, videos and field reports through platforms such as the NHAI ONE/Tatpar app.
The ministry also said that road-related complaints submitted via helplines, social media platforms and mobile applications such as Rajmarg Yatra app are being processed through established grievance-redressal systems.
The government reiterated that contractors and concessionaires remain responsible for maintenance under BOT, HAM and EPC project structures during their concession or defect-liability periods.
Routine and major repairs must be completed within stipulated timelines, with engineers and authority officials conducting regular field inspections to verify compliance.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government has taken the following initiatives for improvement of quality control systems in implementation of NHs works.
1. Mandatory assessments of road conditions through Network Survey Vehicle (NSV) before start of work, before issue of completion certificate and thereafter at regular intervals of six months after completion of the work, thereby enabling quality assessment of NHs at regular intervals for (a) ensuring the maintenance during Concession period / DLP and (b) prioritizing maintenance requirements to maintain NHs in traffic worthy condition; Further revamping of NSV system for road condition assessment using analytics and enforcement of contractual provisions during Operation and Maintenance (O&M) through dedicated central cell;
2. Analysis of High-Resolution Imagery collected from Drone Surveys in Drone Analytics Monitoring System (DAMS) integrated with Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning algorithms for periodic evaluation of progress and quality of ongoing NHs works from time to time;
3. Deployment of Mobile Quality Control Vans (MQCVs) equipped with Non-Destructive Testing Equipment in four States, namely in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odisha and Karnataka as pilot, for diagnostic assessments of overall health and quality of works from time to time during project implementation phases;
4. Deployment of Third Party Quality Auditors for independent quality audits of NH works on a case-to-case basis.
Also Read: Centre Shares Timelines For Key Flyovers And Elevated Corridor Projects In Pune
