The quality of the Rs 26 bn Ujjain-Garoth Highway has come under scrutiny after a section of the elevated carriageway sank for the second time in seven months. The affected stretch lies between Dewas Road and the railway track and rises about 17 metres above the surrounding ground. Following the latest incident, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) ordered demolition and rebuilding of roughly 500 metres of the road to address the technical concern. The recurrence has raised questions about materials and oversight during construction.

NHAI officials reprimanded the construction agency and issued an ultimatum to demolish and reconstruct the 500-metre stretch between the Dewas Road bridge and an under-construction railway culvert. In response, contractor GHV Construction deployed two JCB machines and began excavation work on Monday as directed by the authority. The agency described the work as corrective and said steps were being taken to restore the geometry and load-bearing characteristics of the carriageway. Local traffic arrangements were being managed to maintain movement while demolition proceeds.

GHV Construction senior engineer Amit Rai denied that the highway had actually sunk and attributed the intervention to a third-party technical assessment that identified an issue requiring reconstruction. The project director for NHAI Ujjain said the section near the Dewas Road bridge would be demolished and rebuilt and added that efforts would be made to ensure traffic resumed on the route by March 31. The authority indicated that the remedial work was intended to secure long-term stability and prevent further disruptions prior to formal handover of the corridor.

The affected elevated section forms a critical link on the corridor and its repeated distress has prompted closer scrutiny of construction practices and supervision. Officials signalled that accountability measures were under consideration and that the contractor had been instructed to complete remedial work promptly. The demolition and rebuild are expected to affect schedules for adjacent works but were described as necessary to safeguard users and infrastructure integrity.