Aiming to boost road sector, NHAI drive looks to settle disputes with contractors

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will soon begin a drive to settle with its contractors all existing disputes — worth Rs 70,000 crore and stuck at various levels of arbitration for years — within weeks and save around Rs 50,000 crore in potential payout, giving a fillip to the road construction industry.

Contractors have on various occasions taken disputes to the available fora over the years, seeking claims from the country’s premier highways maker through clauses of the contract. Arbitration and litigation in such cases typically take years, and also keep that much liquidity notionally tied up. The NHAI has decided to reach out to all such contractors—big and small players—to settle the disputes “amicably”, and hopefully within a few weeks.