As part of the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy 2015, Government undertakes plantation along available surplus median and roadside land of Right of Way (ROW) of various National Highway (NH) stretches in the country either as part of NHs projects or standalone basis, in accordance with Indian Roads Congress (IRC):SP:21 guidelines. During the last five years, approximately 1.32 Lakh km of NHs in the country have been covered with the plantation of over 3.61 Crore saplings.

State / Union Territory (UT) – wise details of plantation carried out along NHs during the last five years are at Annexure.

The cost of plantation and environmental mitigation activities is generally inbuilt into the total project cost of the respective NHs projects and expenditure is met from the overall funds allocated State / UT / Agency – wise for development and maintenance of NHs. Also, whenever

plantation work taken up on standalone basis, it is met out of overall fund allocated for NHs works.

Government has taken various policy reforms and initiatives to promote the adoption of recycled materials, waste products and environment friendly technologies in the construction and maintenance of NH projects. The policy framework encourages sustainable construction practices and promotes the potential use of recycled and waste-derived materials in projects wherever technically feasible. Continuous efforts through guidelines, advisories and technological advancements have created an enabling environment for wider adoption, thereby enhancing the potential and acceptance of recycled materials in construction activities.

Various sustainable and recycled materials, such as use of Bamboo Crash Barrier, use of Fly Ash / Pond Ash in embankment and structural works, Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) in bituminous layers, and Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste / Recycled Aggregates are utilized and used in suitable highway works as per technical specifications. The use of plastic waste in bituminous mixes, natural geo-textiles (such as Jute/ Coir etc.) in addition to other sustainable materials including Slag, Bio Bitumen / Molasses, Crumb Rubber, utilization of STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) treated water in road construction works and other recycled or industrial by-products are promoted as per feasibility and guidelines to improve pavement performance for addressing environmental concerns.

Further, Tree plantation and carbon offsetting measures have been integrated into NH projects as part of environmentally sustainable development. Plantation works are invariably taken up along with NHs projects or as separate drives also. Miyawaki plantation and drone monitoring of plantation has also been started to increase the green cover along NHs. Additionally, wherever tree felling is necessary for highway development, compensatory afforestation and tree transplantation are undertaken.

The adoption of green initiative practices, energy efficient construction technologies, digital monitoring systems, and improved environmental management practices have helped reduce emissions, conserve natural resources and minimize environmental impact during road construction.

ANNEXURE

State / UT – wise details of plantation carried out along NHs during the last five years: -

No. of Saplings Planted in Lakh
Sl. No.	State	FY 2021-22	FY 2022-23	FY 2023-24	FY 2024-25	FY 2025-26
1	Andhra Pradesh	2.08	1.63	1.21	2.85	6.16
2	Arunachal Pradesh	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.10	0.31
3	Assam	1.73	0.94	2.74	1.94	2.43
4	Bihar	2.03	2.12	2.38	3.85	2.42
5	Chhattisgarh	1.02	1.33	1.17	1.10	2.43
6	Goa	0.04	0.01	0.00	0.60	0.49
7	Gujarat	2.38	4.51	3.71	6.08	6.05
8	Haryana	1.59	2.19	2.98	5.59	4.34
9	Himachal Pradesh	0.71	0.82	0.32	0.64	0.64
10	Jharkhand	2.53	1.07	0.92	1.01	1.23
11	Karnataka	3.73	2.86	2.23	2.91	2.31
12	Kerala	0.24	0.16	0.18	0.02	0.06
13	Madhya Pradesh	6.31	10.46	7.81	8.88	5.80
14	Maharashtra	9.45	8.51	7.36	6.37	5.25
15	Manipur	0.05	0.09	0.10	0.17	0.09
16	Meghalaya	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.02
17	Nagaland	0.15	0.26	0.27	0.47	0.33
18	Odisha	3.78	3.72	2.88	3.19	3.44
19	Punjab	2.99	2.71	2.34	4.45	4.55
20	Rajasthan	9.50	12.46	8.13	4.53	4.06
21	Sikkim	0.03	0.03	0.00	0.01	1.16
22	Tamil Nadu	2.91	2.81	2.72	4.51	3.40
23	Telangana	2.29	2.80	0.89	0.94	2.23
24	Tripura	0.04	0.00	0.06	0.01	0.04
25	Uttar Pradesh	5.44	6.42	5.03	4.21	4.59
26	Uttarakhand	2.12	1.24	0.56	0.39	0.31
27	West Bengal	3.25	2.38	1.95	1.42	1.09
28	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	0.01	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.01
29	Delhi	9.50	3.44	3.60	8.95	3.80
30	Jammu & Kashmir	0.47	0.87	0.86	1.27	1.80

This information was given by Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

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GDH/HJ

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