Our roads today are the story of Humpty Dumpty. They rise in pomp and fall in silence. Flyovers inaugurated with garlands collapse before the monsoon. Expressways split open within months. Asphalt turns to powder. Construction workers – many brought from distant States — labour without safety or rights. When death comes, as it so often does, it is written off as “human error.”
And yet, money has never been the problem. The Economic Survey 2024-25 shows that India’s capital expenditure on infrastructure grew by 38.8 percent in the last five years, with roads and railways cornering the lion’s share (Business Standard, 2025).
And yet, the outcome is scarcity of quality, accountability. Conscience stares us in the face and dares questions that the people are afraid to ask.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has exposed alarming irregularities.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reports over 1.68 lakh fatalities annually from road accidents (MoRTH Data 2024) – that is one death every three minutes. Yet no minister has ever resigned, no accountability commission has been set up. The government responds with silence, and when questioned, insists that Indians drive carelessly — as if poor design, bad materials, and lack of enforcement had nothing to do with it.
18/10/2025