NHAI Debars Bijwasan Toll Agency, Imposes Rs 15 Lakh Fine

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) acted against a toll collection contractor on 11 November 2026, barring M/s Riddhi Siddhi Associates from taking part in any of its ongoing or future tenders for a period of one month and imposing a penalty of Rs 15 lakh on the firm. The action followed misbehaviour by the agency's personnel with users of the road at the Bijwasan Fee Plaza on NH-248BB on 5 November 2026.

A second, heavier proposal

Treating the episode as a grave one, the authority went beyond the immediate penalty. It issued a show cause notice that proposes keeping the agency, and also its owners and directors, out of all future NHAI tenders for one year. The firm has separately been told to hand charge of the fee plaza to a new agency on 14 November 2026, so that collection at the plaza passes out of its hands within days of the order.

What the contract requires

Under the contract agreement it signed, a user fee collection agency carries the responsibility for the conduct, the discipline and the behaviour of every person it deploys at a fee plaza. The authority held that the incident showed a complete failure by the firm on each of those counts, in maintaining discipline, in supervising its staff properly and in keeping to the obligations written into the agreement.

Why it matters for aspirants

NHAI, which functions under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, said it stands by its commitment to a safe and secure journey for everyone using a national highway and keeps a zero-tolerance approach to misconduct or indiscipline of any kind at toll plazas.

Questions on highway administration usually test the name of the authority, the ministry it reports to and the instrument used, so note that the immediate order was a one-month debarment with a monetary penalty, while the one-year debarment is only a proposal at the show cause stage and extends to the owners and directors of the firm as well.