Lucknow: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday initiated proceedings to declare PNC Infratech, the developer of the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, a non-performing contractor following glaring lapses in the construction quality of the newly inaugurated corridor.NHAI also imposed a financial penalty on the company, downgraded its performance rating, and directed it to fully restore all damaged stretches of the 63-km access-controlled expressway at its own expense.The action came a day after TOI reported that repair work on the Lucknow-Kanpur expressway will take at least three months.Meanwhile, in a relief for commuters, toll collection on the expressway will remain suspended until the affected portions are completely repaired, irrespective of whether motorists are travelling between Lucknow and Unnao or vice versa.The NHAI on Wednesday swung into action in the wake of cracks on the Lucknow-Kanpur expressway. NHAI regional officer (West UP) Gautam Vishal said the authority would expand disciplinary action beyond officials already penalised. While the project manager of PNC Infratech and two private consultants responsible for quality control and design standards had earlier been debarred, additional company personnel involved in pavement construction and project design may also face debarment from future NHAI bids and projects.The authority also acted against its own officers. Chargesheets have been issued to the director of the Lucknow Project Implementation Unit (PIU), Nakul Verma, and former PIU director Saurabh Chaurasia for alleged lapses in monitoring and implementation. Both officers are being repatriated to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.Showcause notices had earlier been served on the two officers after a section of the road surface slipped on the Unnao-Lucknow carriageway on July 27, around 10km from the Unnao toll plaza. The two officials have been asked to explain why disciplinary action should not be initiated against them over the negligence.NHAI has also debarred Theme Engineering Services Pvt Ltd, the independent engineering consultant assigned to monitor project execution. The expressway was built at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore.According to Vishal, preliminary investigations found the quality of the materials used in the upper pavement layers to be satisfactory. However, initial findings suggest monsoon moisture infiltrated from the surface course into the binder and base layers to a depth of up to 1.5 metres.To determine the exact cause of the failure, NHAI has constituted an expert committee led by IIT Kharagpur Prof KS Reddy. The team will examine the underlying reasons for the pavement distress and recommend corrective measures.Vishal said the expressway remains structurally safe for commuters and said PNC Infratech would bear all financial losses until toll collection resumes. NHAI will also deploy laser profilometer technology to assess pavement conditions across the entire corridor.Sources said traffic diversions imposed after the incident are likely to remain in place longer than initially anticipated and could be extended to additional sections until the investigation and remedial work are completed. The corridor carries an estimated 17,000-18,000 passenger car units daily.Inspections have so far identified six locations where either pavement slippage or settlement has occurred. An NHAI official said one factor under examination is the long delay between project completion and commissioning.“The road was ready for traffic in June 2025. Had it been opened soon after completion, regular vehicle movement could have improved the ductility and waterproofing characteristics of the bituminous surface before the monsoon,” the official said.But since the carriageway remained unused for almost a year before being inaugurated on July 13 during the monsoon season, preliminary findings revealed ageing and oxidation resulted in the pavement becoming brittle, leading to percolation of the moisture. Over the sub-grade of the carriageway, PNC Infratech commissioned the project with 525 millimetres (0.525 metre) of base course, binder course and surface course. At four out of the six locations where concerns have been raised, seepage of moisture has been detected at a depth of 1 metre to 1.5 metres from the road surface. Poor design of the drainage system, which could have helped in effective discharge of water from the road pavement, only compounded the problem further.Investigators suspect ageing and oxidation may have made the pavement brittle, allowing moisture to penetrate deeper layers. The problem may have been aggravated by deficiencies in the drainage design, which affected the efficient discharge of water from the pavement structure.The official said the long-term solution could require reconstruction of the entire 525-mm pavement package comprising the surface, binder and base courses. Such a measure could cost stakeholders hundreds of crores of rupees.“While current repairs are estimated at around Rs 3 crore and are confined to a small stretch, ultimately 125-126 km of pavement surface may need reconstruction. Since most of the expressway is six-laned, the final cost could be substantial,” he said.Under NHAI norms, a contractor classified as non-performing cannot participate in ongoing or future projects until deficiencies at existing sites are rectified at its own expense.Agra-based PNC Infratech is headed by Pradeep Kumar Jain as chairman and managing director and Chakresh Kumar Jain (managing director) are among the other 10 directors. Incorporated in 1999, another brother, Naveen Jain, who was elected as a Rajya Sabha BJP MP in 2024, quit the position of the whole-time director of the company on Dec 2, 2017.New director takes chargeBareilly PIU director Navratan took the charge as Lucknow PIU director on Wednesday evening. An engineering background officer from 2015 batch, Navratan has been recruited directly by NHAI. He was earlier also posted as director of the Ayodhya PIU. He was conferred with the prestigious NHAI’s best engineer excellence award in 2023. Navratan was instrumental in execution of the 87-km long national highway between Rae Bareli and Prayagraj in a time bound manner ahead of 2025 Maha Kumbh. Meanwhile Nakul Verma, the 2013 batch officer quit his post to report to the headquarters of the ministry in Delhi. Similarly Chaurasiya, who is currently posted in Gujarat too is expected to report to the Delhi headquarters.
