Published On:
November 14, 2025
Updated On:
November 14, 2025
MoRTH has introduced penalties of INR 25–50 lakh for BOT contractors when repeated accidents occur on the same 500-metre highway stretch. Contractors must upgrade safety systems including geometry, lighting, signage, barriers, and emergency response. A nationwide cashless treatment scheme covering INR 1.5 lakh for the first seven days will support accident victims and reduce fatalities.
India’s national highways carry less than 5% of total road length but account for a disproportionately high share of road deaths each year. With more than 1.5 lakh fatalities annually, the government has been under pressure to tighten road safety standards and enforce stronger accountability on agencies responsible for maintaining these corridors.
In response, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has introduced a new penalty framework targeted specifically at private concessionaires operating national highways under the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) toll model. These rules impose steep financial penalties of INR 25 lakh to INR 50 lakh for repeated accidents on the same 500-metre stretch, and they are designed to push contractors toward immediate safety upgrades and long-term risk reduction.
This is one of the most consequential policy shifts in India’s highway safety regime in recent years.
India has identified nearly 3,500 “black spots” on national highways. A black spot is an officially designated 500-metre segment with a history of repeated accidents or high fatalities, typically caused by faulty design, inadequate signage, missing safety barriers, poor lighting, or a combination of these factors.
These locations often experience:
Despite periodic safety audits, many of these stretches have remained unresolved due to slow repairs, limited monitoring, or lack of accountability mechanisms. The new penalty structure seeks to correct this gap.
MoRTH’s updated rules apply only to BOT (toll) model projects, not to HAM, EPC, TOT, InvIT or OMT models. The reason is structural: BOT contractors collect toll revenue, maintain the highway, upgrade safety infrastructure, and manage user services. In exchange for toll rights, they are contractually responsible for both preventive and corrective safety measures.
BOT contractors control:
Given this level of control, the government expects a higher standard of safety management from BOT concessionaires.
Other models such as Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC), Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT), Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvIT), and Operate-Maintain-Transfer (OMT) involve different risk-sharing structures and maintenance mandates, so they fall under different contractual frameworks.
If more than one accident occurs on the same 500-metre stretch within a year, the contractor faces a penalty of INR 25 lakh.
This pushes concessionaires to respond immediately after the first crash by correcting road geometry, strengthening barriers, improving signage, or initiating targeted repairs.
If another accident takes place in the following year on the same segment, the penalty increases to INR 50 lakh.
This higher penalty is intended to prevent delayed action, neglect, and temporary fixes. It effectively creates a financial incentive to eliminate recurring black spots instead of leaving them unaddressed.
The new rules require concessionaires to systematically upgrade and monitor safety systems. Key responsibilities include:
Correcting dangerous curves, steep gradients, blind spots, unexpected narrowing, and poorly designed merges that contribute to accidents.
Installing reflective signs, lane indicators, speed limits, chevrons on curves, and advance warning boards — all compliant with Indian Roads Congress standards.
Upgrading lighting at junctions, underpasses, toll plazas, interchanges, and accident-prone corridors to improve night-time visibility.
Adding guardrails, crash barriers, rumble strips, and medians to prevent head-on collisions and improve containment during vehicle skidding.
Every concessionaire must maintain:
MoRTH’s new oversight mechanism includes periodic audits to ensure contractors follow through on these obligations.
While infrastructure fixes reduce crashes, timely treatment reduces fatalities. To address this, MoRTH is preparing to launch a national cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims.
This scheme has been tested in pilot phases across select states and cities. The nationwide rollout aims to ensure that no victim is denied treatment due to financial constraints, particularly during the critical “golden hour.”
The government’s logic is clear: improved safety reduces accidents, and faster medical care reduces deaths.
These policy changes — penalties for concessionaires and cashless treatment for victims — are part of a broader attempt to reduce India’s road fatalities by:
The combination of engineering fixes and medical support is expected to significantly impact national highway safety outcomes in the coming years.
