Chaitanya, Pentacle, L&T top NHAI ratings for highway DPR consultants

A total of 56 consultants were rated on a 100-point scale, with scores ranging from 80.75 to 23.33.

Chaitanya Project Consultancy, Pentacle Consultant and L&T Infrastructure Engineering have emerged as the top three consultants for preparing detailed project reports (DPR) of national highways in the country, state-owned NHAI said on Monday.

NHAI has rated 56 DPR consultants on a scale of 100, with the top-rated consultant having a score of 80.75, while the lowest-rated consultant scored 23.33.

Provisional rankings to guide future contracts

The first-of-its-kind rating of consultants, done by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), is provisional and subject to review if any consultant makes a representation with supporting documents to improve their ranking.

NHAI, in an office memorandum, said that this rating is expected to become a deciding factor for awarding DPR contracts to ensure the best DPRs are made for all future national highway projects.

Aim to improve quality and transparency

NHAI said it has undertaken an exercise for performance evaluation and rating of DPR consultants, based on approved criteria and assessment parameters, with the objective of ensuring transparency, quality and continuous improvement in consulting services.

Gadkari flags poor DPR quality

Recently, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government will penalise those consultants who do not adhere to proper procedures in making detailed project reports (DPRs) for highways and tunnels.

A DPR is a comprehensive blueprint for a road construction project, outlining all technical, financial and logistics details necessary for its execution.

“In India, the quality of DPRs prepared by consultancy firms is not good. And also, contractors are not doing a good job,” Gadkari had said at an event here.

Published on January 19, 2026