NHAI orders repair, puncture shops at highway Wayside Amenities: long overdue
The National Highways Authority of India has told Wayside Amenity operators to prioritise vehicle repair shops and puncture services along National Highways and expressways. The directive, issued through NHAI subsidiary NHLML, targets corridors where roadside breakdown assistance is currently thin or non-existent for both private and commercial vehicles.
What was announced
The National Highways Authority of India has directed operators of Wayside Amenities (WSAs) to prioritise the rollout of vehicle repair shops and puncture repair facilities along National Highways and expressways. The order, issued via National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), NHAI's wholly owned subsidiary tasked with developing WSAs nationwide, asks field offices to advise WSA operators to fast-track these services.
A directive without a deadline or penalty clause is a press release. NHAI must tie repair bays to WSA concession renewals if it wants this to land.
The stated focus is highway stretches where roadside assistance is currently limited or absent. NHAI has noted that several corridors lack adequate access to basic mechanical assistance, leaving motorists exposed during breakdowns and emergencies. The facilities, once rolled out, will support both private vehicles and commercial vehicles, including trucks and buses that form the bulk of long-distance highway traffic.
Wayside Amenities are the rest-and-service complexes being developed along India's expanding expressway network, including the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg and the Bundelkhand Expressway. The standard WSA brief includes fuel stations, food courts, rest rooms, dormitories and EV charging. Mechanical repair and puncture bays have been an inconsistent add-on so far, with operators choosing F&B and fuel as the higher-revenue anchors. The new directive does not specify a deadline, a minimum bay count per WSA, or penalties for non-compliance. It also does not clarify whether operators will be allowed to charge regulated tariffs for repairs or whether a 24x7 manning requirement will apply at remote nodes.
The Car Jury verdict
This is a sensible, overdue fix. Anyone who has driven the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway or the long Eastern Peripheral stretches knows the problem: fuel pumps exist, food courts exist, but a punctured tyre on a Sunday afternoon can mean a three-hour wait for a tow. For the buyer, this matters most if you are eyeing a heavy EV like the Tata Harrier EV, the Tata Curvv EV or the Mahindra BE6, where a sidewall failure on 19-inch rubber is not something a roadside jugaad mechanic can patch.
The risk is execution. NHLML has issued a directive, not a deadline or a penalty clause. WSA operators chase footfall, and a puncture shop earns less per square foot than a Haldiram's outlet. Unless NHAI ties repair-bay provisioning to concession renewals, this stays a circular.
