On May 16, 2025, India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) issued a new circular introducing mandatory scrutiny of bid and legal documents for state-executed National Highway (NH) projects. The regulation brings fresh attention to a challenge procurement professionals everywhere are familiar with: when procurement operates in isolation, the entire project is at risk.
According to the circular, released under reference number RW/BNG/NH-73/km86-99/04/2020, Regional Officers (ROs) must now review NH bid documents before tenders are issued and provide legal oversight in any contractual disputes. The directive applies to all new NH works, regardless of budget size, with the exception of routine maintenance.
Why This Regulation Matters
The Fox Mandal law firm, one of India’s oldest and most respected legal practices, explains that the circular is a direct response to repeated project failures stemming from a lack of technical and legal due diligence. In one case, a miscalculation in material quantities wasn’t discovered until after a contract was awarded—during the fourth round of tendering. This error led to disputes and financial liabilities for the central government.
Fox Mandal writes:
“MoRTH had identified critical lapses due to the lack of due diligence in several state-executed NH projects… The Circular attributes such outcomes to two systemic gaps: absence of RO scrutiny during bid preparation and mechanical defense during contractual disputes.”
— Lexology, Fox Mandal, June 2025
The message from MoRTH is clear: oversight is no longer optional. From bid creation to legal submission, procurement must become a collaborative, transparent, and accountable process.
Lessons for Procurement Professionals
While the regulation is specific to India’s infrastructure development, the lesson is universal: procurement cannot function in a vacuum.
Too many organizations treat procurement as a back-office function—only pulling in technical or operational experts at the last minute, or worse, not at all. The result? Projects miss critical technical inputs, run into disputes, and waste time and resources fixing problems that could have been prevented.
I recently worked with a client whose operations team was used to working in silos. They ignored meeting invites, didn’t respond to emails, and refused to engage during the drafting of an RFP for a high-stakes project. Then, after the RFP was released, that same team raised multiple objections, pointing out gaps they had every opportunity to prevent. The RFP had to be immediately amended, costing time and undermining the credibility of the process.
A Global Trend Toward Accountability
India isn’t alone in pushing for higher standards in public procurement. Globally, government agencies are implementing stricter procurement controls. According to a recent World Bank analysis:
“Procurement reforms that promote transparency and accountability lead to better development outcomes, especially in infrastructure projects where delays and disputes are common.”
— World Bank Procurement Reform Study, 2024
MoRTH’s move signals a recognition that procurement is strategic infrastructure, not just administrative overhead. For procurement leaders, the key takeaway is this: category expertise and cross-functional alignment are non-negotiable.
Prepare for What’s Next
Clients working in infrastructure, whether in India or anywhere else, should take this as a cue to revisit their own procurement processes. Is your procurement team skilled in the category they manage? Are operational teams held accountable for participation? Is legal input brought in early—or only when something goes wrong?
MoRTH’s new rules raise the bar. Smart procurement leaders won’t wait for similar mandates in their jurisdiction—they’ll get ahead of the curve now.
Is your team structured to avoid these kinds of procurement pitfalls?
How do you ensure cross-functional alignment in complex RFPs?
Have you experienced challenges like the one I described?
Tell me your stories.
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