According to the new document, a company will not be eligible for the pre-qualification stage if it has been a part of this stage in more than 12 projects.
It also states that a company cannot participate in a project if it has been shortlisted for the final bidding process in case of eight or more projects and has been declared by the authority as the selected bidder for four or more projects in the previous four months.
The new document has been prepared for the Hospet-Bellary section of the national highway. However, this is being considered as a model for future road projects.
Earlier, there was no restriction on the number of projects a company could apply for.
A ministry official said the new document would ensure a level-playing field for infrastructure companies and prevent cartelisation by the bigger players.
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Construction companies alleged that restricting the number of players, who would be eligible for financial bidding, to five and creating a weightage system for pre-qualification would help international companies, which have more experience, and leave behind the Indian companies with large turnovers.
As a result, only a few large companies were grabbing most of the contracts, they said.
The National Highway Builders Federation (NHBF) has challenged the Planning Commission criterion in a court.
However, infrastructure companies are confused about the implication of the new document.
An infrastructure player, who did not want to be identified, said the new document had created lot of uncertainty in the construction industry as none of the companies participating in the RFQ stage would know if it would qualify in the previous project or not.
When contacted, NHBF executives declined to comment saying the matter was sub-judice. But sources say the NHBF will file a counter-reply in the Delhi High Court after seeking the opinion of its members and the legal community.