On NHAI and other Indian government packages, the hindrance register is the contemporaneous record that every later EOT application, and every later arbitration, rests on. It is not a form to be filled at claim time. It is a running log, kept from the first obstruction, ideally countersigned by the Authority Engineer while the facts are undisputed.
The standard columns
| Column | What goes in it | Discipline |
|---|---|---|
| Sl. No. | Running number, never reused | One number per hindrance, even if it recurs |
| Description of hindrance | What obstructed the work, where (chainage or location), and which activity it affected | Specific: "Land Ch. 42+300 to 44+100 not handed over", not "land issues" |
| Date of occurrence | The date the obstruction began | Recorded the same week, not reconstructed |
| Date of removal | The date it ended; blank while continuing | Close entries promptly; an open entry with no end date invites dispute |
| Period | Removal minus occurrence, in days | Arithmetic, computed, not estimated |
| Responsible agency | Authority, Authority Engineer, utility owner, contractor, or under review | Be honest; a register that blames the Authority for everything is discounted |
| Remarks | Reference to the letter that notified it, and any response | Every entry should point to a letter |
| AE signature | Pending, signed with date, or refused with date | Chase it; a refusal is itself worth recording |
Five rules that make it hold up
- Start it before you need it. The first entry should be the first unanswered RFI or the first missed handover date, not the point at which the DGM asks about the claim.
- Log within the week. An entry dated the week the hindrance began carries weight. A batch of entries all created the month before the claim carries almost none.
- Get the countersignature. An entry the AE has signed is very hard to dispute later. Take the register to the monthly meeting; make signing routine.
- Link every entry to a letter. The protective letter is the notice; the register entry is the record. They should cross-reference each other by number and date.
- Attach the evidence. Photographs with dates, site diary pages, utility owner correspondence, land status reports. Numbered, so the annexure to a future application is already built.
Why NHAI is winning arbitrations
Recent NHAI press coverage of arbitration outcomes on the Bareilly–Sitapur, Kamrej–Chalthan, Panipat–Jalandhar, and Tumkur–Chitradurga packages shows contractor claims reduced to small fractions of what was sought, and in one case a large award to the Authority. Whatever the merits of each case, the pattern is that the Authority arrives with its own contemporaneous documentation and the contractor arrives with a reconstruction. The January 2026 MoRTH circular moving larger disputes away from arbitration changes the forum, not the evidence that wins in it.
Common failures
- Entries that describe a category ("delay in drawings") rather than an event with a date and a location.
- Continuing hindrances left open for months without follow-up letters.
- Responsible agency recorded as the Authority for contractor-caused problems, which discredits the whole register.
- The physical register kept on site with no typed, backed-up copy.
What this means in practice
- Use the standard columns and never let an entry lack a date, a location, and a letter reference.
- Make AE countersignature a monthly routine, and record refusals.
- Keep a typed twin of the physical register; photograph the countersigned pages into it.
- Treat the register as the annexure to a future claim, because that is exactly what it becomes.
DraftMyEOT logs hindrances from a phone in under a minute, tracks AE countersignature per entry, links letters and evidence, and exports the register in the standard eight-column format.
Start a 48-hour draft →Sources
- Standing Committee on Transport, Parliament of India, as reported by Deccan Herald
- NHAI press releases on the Bareilly–Sitapur, Kamrej–Chalthan, Panipat–Jalandhar, and Tumkur–Chitradurga arbitration outcomes, as reported by Indian Masterminds (2026)
- Circular dated 12 January 2026, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, as discussed by Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
- “How To Resolve A Construction Dispute In India,” Global Law Experts
This article is general information about how these contract mechanisms typically work. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for review of your specific contract by a qualified professional.