The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has successfully defended an arbitration case involving the Chittorgarh–Udaipur highway project in Rajasthan, with the tribunal rejecting concessionaire Uchit Expressway Private Limited’s claims of ₹366.53 crore, including ₹238.18 crore towards COVID-19-related prolongation costs.
The three-member arbitral tribunal under the Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes (SAROD) allowed claims amounting to ₹14.51 crore, along with a conditional refund of ₹2.82 crore to the concessionaire, according to an NHAI press release dated October 19.
The tribunal also awarded NHAI counterclaims of ₹33.54 crore in principal. This includes ₹27 crore for recovery of work dropped from the project scope, ₹4.03 crore for failure to maintain the highway and ₹2.51 crore towards unauthorised toll collection after the project’s completion in March 2021.
The dispute arose from the concession agreement for the six-laning of the 93.5-km Chittorgarh–Udaipur section of NH-76 in Rajasthan. Uchit Expressway is promoted by TRIL Roads.
NHAI said the outcome safeguards public resources and reaffirms the contractual framework governing national highway projects.
