Green Highways

The Union government launched the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification & Maintenance) Policy, 2015, on September 29 last year. The aim of the policy is to promote greening of Highway corridors with participation of the community, farmers, private sector, NGOs, and government institutions.

As per the programme, one per cent of the total project cost of all highways projects will be kept aside for the highway plantation and its maintenance. About Rs 1000 crore per year will be made available for plantation purpose. The government expects that this policy will generate employment opportunities for about five lakh people from rural areas.

The government seeks to monitor the programme by using ISRO’s Bhuvan and GAGAN satellite systems. Every planted tree will be counted and auditing will be done. The agencies performing well will be awarded. The Green Highway Policy will help in making India pollution free, and also provide dignified employment to local people and communities.

India has a total 46.99 lakh km of road length and out of which over 96,214 km are National Highways, accounting for 2% of total road length. The Highways carry about 40% of the traffic load. The government has decided to develop all of existing National Highways and 40,000 km of additional roads in the next few years as Green Highways.

Plants along highway median strips and along the edges reduce the glare of oncoming vehicles which sometimes become cause of accidents. The community involvement in tree plantation directly benefits local people by generating employment. The Panchayats, NGOs and other Self Help Groups (SHGs) will be involved in the process of planting and maintenance. The plant species selected will be region specific depending on local conditions such as rainfall, climate type of soil etc.

The plantations and its maintenance may be taken up through outsourcing following bidding process as per standard protocol of procurement of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) and its agencies for the stretch/ROW not declared as protected forest under Forest Conservation (Act) 1980. The policy when implemented in letter and spirit will result into India being a “Nation with Natural Highways”. It will address the issues that lie in the “road of development” and pave “a journey towards sustainable development”.