Contractors Face Charges Over Mumbai-Goa Highway

Contractors Chetak Enterprises and APCO Infrastructure face culpable homicide charges due to substandard work on a 26.7-kilometer stretch of the Mumbai-Goa highway, leading to 170 accidents, 97 deaths, and 208 injuries since 2020. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde instructed Raigad police to file charges following his review of the incomplete project, initially contracted in 2017 with a two-year deadline. The contractors failed to meet quality standards, leaving numerous potholes and unsafe conditions. Assistant Police Inspector Nivrutti Borhade highlighted the hazardous state of the road due to unattended construction. The National Highways Authority of India had lodged multiple complaints, and project coordinator Sujit Sadanand Kavale has been arrested. Shinde plans to discuss further actions with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to prevent such contractors from future projects.