The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has made weekly inspections of toll plazas, adjoining administrative blocks and public amenities mandatory. The measure is intended to ensure regular maintenance and improve monitoring of facilities used by highway travellers.

The Project Director of the concerned field unit will be responsible for conducting the inspections. Checks will cover toilet blocks, fee collection booths, administrative buildings, surrounding areas and signboards, with deficiencies assessed against service-level agreements and other contractual obligations.

Where shortcomings are identified, NHAI will issue a show-cause notice to the User Fee Collection Agency (UFCA), requiring the problem to be rectified within the period specified in its agreement. If the deficiency is not removed within the stipulated time, the authority may impose the applicable contractual penalty.

An operator will be declared a non-performer if unresolved notices exceed 10 per cent of the fee plazas it operates. Such an operator will then be barred from submitting bids for toll plazas, civil works or other tenders for 15 days, or until the identified issues are resolved, according to the monitoring and enforcement arrangement.

The action follows frequent reports of poor upkeep at fee plazas, administrative buildings and nearby areas. Reported problems have included the non-availability or non-refurbishment of consumable items, inadequate maintenance of signboards and non-compliance with prescribed provisions and guidelines.

All notices and supporting dated photographs are to be uploaded to a dedicated portal. The system is intended to provide documented evidence of deficiencies, corrective action and enforcement by the relevant field units.