Parliament Question: Paithan-Pandharpur Section of NH

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 855 ANSWERED ON 4TH DECEMBER, 2025 PAITHAN-PANDHARPUR SECTION OF NH †855. SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE:

Will the MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Ministry is aware that the original earthwork and concrete work on the Bodhegaon–Dighol road in Beed district, Maharashtra, in the Paithan–Pandharpur section of National Highway NH‑752E/561A have been carried out contrary to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways standards leading to serious cracks, frequent accidents and the death of numerous citizens, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether contractors have been illegally benefited by the misuse of provisions such as “change in scope”, “additional items”, “disscope” and “time overrun” in the related construction works and public funds have been misused with the connivance of executive officials;

(c) if so, whether the Ministry is considering to constitute an independent high‑level inquiry committee in this regard; and

(d) whether the Government proposes to formulate a concrete policy to provide compensation to the families of accident victims on this road, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)(a) The construction of Paithan–Pandharpur section of National Highway (NH)–752E/561A particularly from Bodhegaon to Dighol (Beed district, Maharashtra) has been taken up in two packages i.e. Paithan to Shirur having length of 55.94 km and Shirur to Kharda having length of 54.11 km. The construction works on this NH stretch have been carried out as per the quality standards & design specified by Indian Roads Congress (IRC). However, cracks have been observed in about 540 number of concrete panels out of 48,908 number of concrete panels and the contractor has been directed to replace/repair these cracked panels. Of these, 376 panels have already been replaced/repaired, and rectification on the remaining 164 panels is currently underway. However, no fatalities have been reported on account of above cracked panels.

(b) The „change in scope‟ and „additional items‟ have been executed for an amount of Rs. 11.36 crores in Paithan to Shirur section against the total awarded civil cost of Rs.242.82 crore and Rs. 4.56 crores against a total awarded civil cost of 245.12 crores in Shirur to Kharda involving additional culverts, change in type of culverts from hume pipe culverts to concrete box culverts, four-laning in Patoda built-up

section and bituminous pavement instead of concrete pavement in forest stretches have been undertaken as per the site conditions in accordance with provisions of the Contract Agreement. Additionally,

4.44 km length of Shirur to Kharda section overlapping with already sanctioned Chumbali to Manjarsunbha section of NH-548D has been „de-scoped‟ in this project.

Further, „time extension‟ has been granted upto 31.03.2022, on account of disputes on existing NH Right of Way (RoW), delays in acquisition of additional land and COVID-19 pandemic, and for the period beyond this, escalation has been frozen. No undue benefits have been given to the contractors against the provisions of contract agreement. As on date, work in 48.61 km out of 55.94 km length of Paithan to Shirur section and 48 km out of 54.11 km length in Shirur to Kharda section have been completed. In balance stretches in both the sections, work is held up due to disputes on existing NH RoW. The balance work, to the extant feasible, is scheduled to be completed by

15.02.2026.(c) The quality audit of the project has been entrusted to IIT Bombay. Action would be taken as per the report of IIT Bombay.

(d) As regards to compensation to road accident victims, Government has issued notification dated 25th February, 2022 mandating the procedure for detailed investigation of road accidents, the Electronic Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) and its reporting, along with timelines for different stakeholders and for faster settlements of claims by the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT).

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