Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has warned that contractors, consultants and government officials responsible for poor highway construction quality could face penalties and blacklisting, as the Centre expands the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital surveillance technologies to monitor national highways.
Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Conference on "Highways of India's Future: Smart, Safe and Sustainable" in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 27, Gadkari said the government was strengthening monitoring mechanisms to identify construction defects and improve accountability.
The minister said Network Surveillance Vehicles (NSVs) would be used to detect potholes and assess road conditions across national highways. These vehicles are equipped with multiple sensors and imaging technologies that collect information about pavement quality while travelling at speeds of 40 to 80 kilometres per hour.
The data collected through these systems can support maintenance planning and AI-enabled monitoring platforms, including the Road Asset Management System (RAMS) Data Lake.
Gadkari said he had personally reviewed hundreds of highway projects over recent months and that increased scrutiny had contributed to a 30% reduction in reported construction-quality problems.
He also acknowledged the role of social media in identifying defective road stretches and encouraged citizens to report such issues through online platforms.
The minister said several manufacturers of highway components, including bearings and expansion joints, had already been blacklisted over quality concerns. He reiterated that the ministry would take action against companies and individuals found compromising construction standards.
Alongside construction monitoring, the government is expanding AI-based road safety systems.
Gadkari said Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS), incorporating AI capabilities, would be deployed across approximately 1,000 kilometres of national highways in the first phase. The systems are intended to support real-time traffic monitoring and improve the identification of safety-related incidents.
The minister also emphasised lane discipline as an important measure for reducing road accidents.
The technology-led initiatives follow efforts by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to strengthen highway operations and maintenance. In March 2026, NHAI announced plans to deploy AI-powered dashboard camera analytics across approximately 40,000 kilometres of the national highway network.
The initiative involves cameras mounted on route patrol vehicles to conduct regular road surveys and identify defects using image and video analysis.
During the conference, Gadkari also discussed the economic importance of transport infrastructure, stating that India's logistics costs had declined from 16% to approximately 9% of gross domestic product, according to government estimates.
He attributed the reduction partly to improvements in road connectivity and said the government would continue prioritising infrastructure development.
The latest measures place greater emphasis on technology-assisted inspections, digital reporting and enforcement against construction-quality violations across India's national highway network.
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