New Delhi, Oct. 28 -- The union government has decided to introduce additional safeguards and scrutiny to prevent road and highway arbitrations against the National Highways Authority of India Ltd (NHAI) from running longer than expected and causing costs to pile up, two people aware of the matter said.

Mint reported on 25 June that NHAI has faced many such disputes in recent years, leading to a drop in highway project awards from 6,300 km in FY22 to about 4,000 km in FY25. Arbitration claims against NHAI have swelled to nearly Rs.1 trillion as of March, which is roughly 40% of NHAI's total liabilities, underscoring the financial strain from unresolved conflicts. In July 2024, the finance ministry said in a Lok Sabha disclosure that abou...