Indore News: High Court Seeks Report On ‘Poorly Built’ NH-3 After Several Fatal Accidents

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Taking a serious note of the allegation of repeated accidents on Indore–Mumbai National Highway (NH-3), the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh high court has directed the additional solicitor general to initiate appropriate action and submit a detailed report to the court by December 15.

The direction came from a division bench comprising justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Binod Kumar Dwivedi, during the hearing of a PIL filed by social worker and advocate BL Jain of Sendhwa. Advocate Abhishek Tugnawat appeared for the petitioner.

The PIL highlighted serious safety issues in the Rau–Khalghat section of NH-3, particularly the 9-km Bherughat–Bakaner Ghat stretch, where the gradient of the road was allegedly kept at 6 metres per 100 meters-- a steep slope causing frequent brake failures in heavy vehicles.

According to the petition, over the past 15 years (2009–2024), more than 3,000 accidents had occurred on this stretch, leading to over 450 deaths and hundreds of serious injuries.

To address the high accident rate, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) built an 8.8-km alternative road alongside Bakaner Ghat at a cost of Rs 106 crore.

However, the newly constructed road, built by a Haryana-based company, deteriorated within six months of completion.

The petitioner informed the court that after just six inches of rainfall, the road was riddled with potholes, posing a new threat to commuters. On September 15, a car lost control while avoiding potholes and collided with a dumper, resulting in the death of a 24-year-old youth from Khargone and serious injuries to two companions.

PIL demands high-level probe and permanent road repair

Despite collecting tolls from over 19,000 vehicles daily, no permanent solution was implemented by NHAI or the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, alleged the petitioner. Complaints were earlier submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Union minister for road transport and senior ministry officials, but no remedial action followed.

The PIL seeks a high-level inquiry into the poor quality of the construction, accountability of the company and officials involved and permanent structural improvements to prevent further accidents.

During the hearing, additional solicitor general Sunil Jain appeared on behalf of the Central government. After considering the submissions, the high court ordered him to ensure appropriate action and submit a compliance report by December 15.