NHAI defends arbitration claim in Chittorgarh-Udaipur highway project and wins counter-claims

16 October 2026

The National Highways Authority of India successfully defended an arbitration claim relating to the six-laning of the 93.5 km Chittorgarh-Udaipur section of NH-76 in Rajasthan. A three-member Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes (SAROD) substantially upheld NHAI's position. The concessionaire, Uchit Expressway Private Limited, promoted by TRIL Roads Pvt. Ltd., had claims of Rs. 366.53 crore rejected, including a prolongation cost claim of Rs. 238.18 crore linked to COVID-19. Claims of Rs. 14.51 crore were allowed along with a conditional refund of Rs. 2.82 crore. The Tribunal awarded NHAI counter-claims of Rs. 33.54 crore as principal, made up of Rs. 27 crore for work dropped from the project scope, Rs. 4.03 crore for failure to maintain the highway and Rs. 2.51 crore for toll collected without authorisation after the project's completion date in March 2021.