 "Roads ministry to soon start work on 'Green Highways' Mission: Gadkari")
Work would begin in the next two months, said roads minister Nitin Gadkari, on planting trees along national highways.
This is under the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy, 2015. The latter's aim is to reduce the impact of air pollution and dust by planting trees and shrubs along highways. This would act as a natural sink for air pollutants and greenhouse gases, thus also helping the government's global commitments in this regard. And, hopefully, arrest soil erosion at embankment slopes.
Read more from our special coverage on "NITIN GADKARI"
Gadkari was speaking at a consultation session organised by The Energy and Resources Institute between the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and environmental specialists, on the feasibility of relocating and transplanting grown trees along highways. Although the government aims to create nurseries along national highways to rear saplings for planting, significant and constant efforts are required in sustaining these, said an NHAI official. Saplings have had a low survival rate in past initiatives.
As a result, the transplantation of grown trees has been given priority. For this, NHAI plans to bring in non-government bodies, students, businesses and the like. Gadkari said all necessary funding for labour and mechanisations will be provided by the ministry, which will soon start allotting select patches of national highways to such bodies for afforestation and transplantion, on an experimental basis.
The projects, he added, would be monitored through satellite technology and payments made only after being deemed successful. Funding will not be a challenge, as one per cent of all funds sanctioned for new road construction is now earmarked for afforestation, the minister assured. Also, there will be honours for the top three individuals in each state who contributed the most.
Gadkari said the government planned to make it mandatory to set aside one per cent of the total cost of any highway project for road safety. There are 500,000 mishaps on roads in the country every year, in which 150,000 die and another 300,000 are wounded.
Mercedes-Benz India, he said, had told the ministry it can supply vehicles which can run on clean fuels like bio-diesel and ethanol. The management had also told him the standards prescribed by the government regarding bio-diesel were achievable.
More From This Section
Major construction equipment companies, he said, had also shown willingness to use bio-diesel, ethanol and other such products.
The government has awarded road contracts worth Rs 1,50,000 crore till April, with the figure reaching Rs 2,00,000 crore by end-May, he added.