The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will conduct special quality inspections of 17 under-construction National Highway projects, including projects in Punjab and Haryana, where the bid value was more than 15 per cent below the estimated project cost.The inspections are aimed at detecting quality-related issues at an early stage and ensuring timely corrective action, in addition to NHAI’s regular quality-monitoring mechanisms.The first round of inspections is scheduled to be completed by December 2026. The identified projects will subsequently be re-inspected after six months by a different team of experts to assess compliance with construction standards and verify corrective measures.The 17 projects have been selected on the basis of three criteria — construction cost of more than Rs 500 crore, tender discount of over 15 per cent and physical progress between 35 and 80 per cent.NHAI said the criteria would enable it to focus its quality checks on projects at a critical stage of construction while adopting an objective and data-driven approach.The selected projects comprise greenfield and access-controlled corridors, bypasses, and four- and six-laning works across Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.To strengthen the quality-monitoring mechanism, NHAI has constituted a pool of experts, with specialised inspection teams to be led by 39 experienced and retired engineers from various government organisations, including the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Defence and State Public Works Departments.Technical experts will also assist the teams during the inspections.The inspection teams will assess construction works against approved drawings, technical specifications, contractual conditions and project-specific quality plans. They will examine the quality of construction materials, workmanship and construction methods, besides reviewing records related to sampling and testing.The inspections will also cover road safety measures, traffic management and environmental safeguards, wherever applicable. Any work found to be below the prescribed standards will be identified and followed up for corrective action under the applicable contractual provisions.According to NHAI, the specialised inspections will also help identify recurring quality issues, construction practices requiring improvement and areas where greater accountability is needed from contractors, consultants and other stakeholders.The initiative is part of NHAI’s broader efforts to strengthen quality monitoring of ongoing National Highway projects and ensure timely corrective action, with the objective of developing a world-class National Highway network across the country.