Nitin Gadkari to launch Green Highways Policy tomorrow

NEW DELHI: Government will launch its Green Highways Policy tomorrow that will make it mandatory for road developers to set aside 1 per cent of the total project cost for plantation, a scheme that is likely to see Rs 1,000 crore under the green corpus this fiscal.

"Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari will release the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy, 2015 at the National Conference in New Delhi tomorrow," an official statement said today.

The government intends to take up road projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore in a year and 1 per cent of it -- Rs 1,000 crore will be spent for trees plantation along National Highways.

The policy is aimed at "greening of highway corridors with participation of the community, farmers, private sector, NGOs, and government institutions", the statement said.

After the implementation, the community will be benefited in terms of huge employment opportunities and entrepreneurship development, it said adding, there will be huge environmental benefits also and it will also contribute to the economic development of the country.

At the National Conference over 1,000 delegates from all over India will participate and deliberate upon various issues related to the development of Green Highways in the country.

The conference will have technical sessions on various issues such as designing green belt-A strategic approach, steps towards successful plantation along national highways and saving trees through transplanting.

Keen on transforming the highways into green corridors to minimise pollution, the ' Green Fund' is the brainchild of Gadkari, who is confident that once kickstarted, the policy will not only create huge number of jobs but also contribute significantly to the economic growth.

Gadkari has specified that planting trees in any particular area will depend on the soil suitability there, besides climate and success stories like Alphanso can be planted in Konkan in Maharashtra.

The Indian road network at 33 lakh km is the second largest in the world and consists of about 96,000 km of NHs, which constitute only 1.7 per cent of the road network but carry about 40 per cent of the total road traffic.