The Noida Authority has cracked down on poor road infrastructure and shoddy resurfacing work across the industrial city in Uttar Pradesh. Responding to widespread public outrage over newly built and resurfaced stretches developing deep potholes, peeling asphalt, and loose gravel within days of completion, top administration has launched a sweeping inquiry. Noida Authority Chief Executive Officer Krishna Karunesh has ordered a high-level probe into all road construction and resurfacing tenders issued from the year 2022 to the present date. The strict enforcement order has created severe panic among civil contractors and supervising department officials who oversaw these projects. Commuters, particularly motorcycle riders and e-rickshaw drivers, face severe safety hazards every day due to loose stone chips and dust clouds dominating major arterial routes.
Rs 500 Crore Tenders and Contractor Excuses
To ensure smooth vehicular movement across the township, the authority had previously initiated extensive road repair and resurfacing drives covering Circle-1 to Circle-5. Under these initiatives, tenders worth nearly Rs 500 crore were awarded to multiple private construction agencies and contractors to repair and overlay approximately 150 kilometers of key roadways. However, project execution witnessed severe delays across several main corridors. When questioned regarding the slow progress, contractors blamed the ongoing conflict in West Asia and Gulf nations. They claimed that international supply chain disruptions severely choked imports of raw materials, specifically bitumen and tarcoal. Despite these official explanations, massive funds were released while ground conditions failed to show any durable improvement.
Hazardous Corridors and High Accident Zones
Ground conditions across multiple high-density transit corridors remain extremely perilous for daily commuters. The primary arterial road leading from Sector-18 to Sector-37 and toward Sector-51 has suffered extensive surface damage. Similarly, the road stretching from Sector-49 to the 12/22 Chowki, the stretch fronting Sector-31, and the corridor between Stadium Chowk and Sector-49 are severely dilapidated. Right opposite the Botanical Garden Metro Station, loose gravel strewn across the main road has resulted in frequent skidding accidents involving two-wheelers. Deterioration is also evident near the Sector-5 water tank and at multiple intersections in Sector-62. Most strikingly, patch repair work executed barely 20 days ago in front of the ARTO office has completely disintegrated, exposing deep, dangerous craters.
Scope of Probe: Material Testing, Quality Audits, and Payments
Under the directives issued by CEO Krishna Karunesh, audit teams will scrutinize all tender documents approved since 2022. The investigation will focus on verifying whether prescribed engineering specifications and quality control parameters were followed during construction. Standard contract clauses dictate that resurfaced roads must remain durable without major deterioration for a set guarantee period, typically expected to last up to 4 years. However, recent patchworks have failed to survive even 40 days, and in some instances, peeled off within 20 days. The inquiry panel will examine tender conditions, laboratory test reports of construction materials, structural quality, post-construction maintenance logs, and financial records detailing total payments disbursed to contractors.
Blacklisting Faulty Contractors and Penalizing Officials
The chief executive officer emphasized that compromised construction quality and public safety hazards will not be tolerated under any circumstances. If the probe confirms that a contractor used substandard materials or neglected quality benchmarks, strict punitive measures will be enforced immediately. Such firms will be barred from participating in any future Noida Authority contracts and will be formally blacklisted. Furthermore, if the audit reveals negligence, improper supervision, or collusion on the part of authority engineers or employees who approved substandard work, formal departmental action will be initiated against them. With hundreds of crores spent annually on road maintenance, the authority aims to enforce strict accountability for every public rupee spent.
