The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has informed the Lok Sabha that the ongoing widening of National Highway 66 (NH-66) in Kerala has claimed 23 lives, including 22 construction workers and one passenger.

In a written reply to Mavelikkara MP Kodikkunnil Suresh on Thursday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said road safety audits had uncovered serious lapses at several construction sites. The ministry acknowledged that contractors failed to follow traffic management norms, work zone safety standards and basic construction safety protocols.

Data current up to January 15, 2026, showed that fatalities were reported across several districts over the last decade, with a sharp rise in the past three years. One death was reported in Thrissur in 2013. In 2022, one worker died on the Neeleshwaram–Thalipparamba stretch. Five deaths were recorded in 2023 across Kasaragod, Kannur, Thrissur and Alappuzha. In 2024, six people died, including a roller operator in Kozhikode and workers in Kollam and Alappuzha. The highest toll came in 2025, when 10 deaths were reported in Kasaragod, Kannur, Alappuzha and Kollam.

Alappuzha reported five deaths between 2023 and 2025 on the Aroor–Thuravoor elevated highway stretch, including the only passenger fatality in November 2025 after a PSC girder collapsed on to a vehicle. Kollam recorded five worker deaths in 2024 and 2025 due to electrocution, vehicles striking workers on diversion roads and labourers being trapped under soil loads.

Kannur and Kasaragod together accounted for eight fatalities—four each—between 2023 and 2025, involving soil collapses and machinery-related accidents. Thrissur recorded three worker deaths in incidents reported in 2013 and 2023. Kozhikode reported one fatality in 2024 when a roller operator died during road maintenance work.

On the Chengala–Neeleshwaram stretch, a worker fell six metres to his death after failing to secure his safety harness. In Kannur and Kozhikode, uncontrolled trucks entered poorly barricaded work zones, causing fatalities. Soil collapses during excavation in the Thalipparamba and Azhiyur–Vengalam stretches also led to worker deaths.

The companies executing various stretches of the project include ULCCS, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited, Vishwa Samudra Engineering, Adani Group, Shivalaya Construction and Ashoka Buildcon.

The government stated that compensation ranging from ₹10 lakh to over ₹34 lakh has either been paid or is being processed through the concessionaires’ insurance cover under the Workmen’s Compensation Policy in all reported cases.

Earlier, the ministry informed that it has deployed around 10 geotechnical investigation agencies to conduct detailed soil and ground assessments of all Reinforced Soil (RS) walls across 17 ongoing NH-66 projects in Kerala, covering 351 structures. The decision follows repeated incidents of embankment settlement and structural failures reported since May 2025.

In another written reply to Chalakudy MP Benny Behanan, Gadkari said the assessments form part of corrective measures to address design and construction concerns related to RS walls along NH-66.

Data tabled in Parliament showed that 72 national highway projects across the country reported collapses or major construction deficiencies over the past five years. Kerala ranked second after Maharashtra, recording 10 incidents between 2020 and 2025, while Maharashtra reported 19.

Contractors in Kerala incurred cumulative penalties totalling ₹32.18 crore for major lapses. Among the most significant failures was the collapse of four girders on the Thalassery–Mahe bypass in 2020, which led to a ₹1 crore penalty and a one-year debarment of the contractor.

Between 2022 and 2025, authorities reported additional failures on NH-66 stretches, including collapses of vehicular underpasses, soil-nailing failures, retaining wall collapses and girder failures, resulting in penalties, contract terminations and temporary debarment of contractors and engineers.