In response to Unstarred Question No. 2166, answered on February 12, 2026, regarding the safety audit of NH-66, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways stated that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) constituted an Independent Expert Committee. This committee comprised of former/present Chief Scientists from the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), the Director of the Geological Survey of India, and the Professor & Head of Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad. The committee visited vulnerable locations of Reinforced Soil (RS) Walls and Slope Protection Works on ongoing projects on NH-66 in Kerala. The Expert Committee submitted its report on August 4, 2025, and NHAI is taking actions as per their recommendations. Following two incidents at Kooriyad and Mylakkadu, NHAI has deployed approximately 10 Geotechnical Investigation Agencies to conduct soil and ground assessments at every RS Wall location across 17 projects on NH-66, encompassing a total of 351 structures. The work is being supervised by the former IIT-Delhi Professor and Associate Professor & Head of Civil Engineering, IIT Palakkad. Each RS Wall will be re-evaluated based on the results, and necessary corrective actions will be taken.
Key Entities Referenced
National Highway (NH)-66: A major National Highway, specifically the stretch from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, which is the subject of a safety audit.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI): The primary authority responsible for the safety audit of NH-66 and construction-related decisions.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways: The ministry responsible for answering questions related to NH-66 and overseeing NHAI.
Independent Expert Committee: The committee constituted by NHAI to conduct the safety audit of NH-66, comprising scientists and professors from various institutions.
Kerala: The state where ongoing projects on NH-66, including RS walls and slope protection works, are located.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2166
ANSWERED ON 12TH FEBRUARY, 2026
SAFETY AUDIT OF NH-66
2166. SHRI SHAFI PARAMBIL:
Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार् ग मंत्री
be pleased to state:
(a) the current status of the safety audit announced by the
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the entire stretch of
National Highway (NH)-66 from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram;
(b) whether the Government proposes to issue directions to NHAI
to construct elevated highways instead of embankments, which are
prone to collapse;
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
(d) if not, the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
(SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)
(a) to (d) In NH-66, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
had constituted an Independent Expert Committee comprising of
former/ present Chief Scientists, Central Road Research Institute
(CRRI), Director, Geological Survey of India, Professor & Head of
Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad, who
visited all vulnerable locations of Reinforced Soil (RS) Walls and
Slope Protection Works in the ongoing projects on NH-66 in Kerala.Expert Committee submitted their report on 04.08.2025. NHAI is
taking actions as per recommendations of the above Committee.
In view of two incidents at Kooriyad and Mylakkadu, it has
been decided to verify bearing capacity beneath RS walls and to
address this, NHAI has deployed about 10 Geotechnical
Investigation Agencies to carry out soil and ground assessments at
every RS Wall location across 17 projects on NH-66 (total 351
structures). This work is being supervised by the former IIT-Delhi
Professor and Associate Professor & Head of Civil Engineering, IIT
Palakkad. Based on the results, each RS Wall will be re-evaluated,
and necessary corrective actions will be taken up.
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