Gadkari to launch Green Highways Policy soon

New Delhi: To transform India's 96,000-km network of National Highways (NHs) into green corridors, a Green Highways Policy is likely to be launched by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari this month. Under the policy, it will be mandatory to set aside 1% of the total project cost for plantation.

"This is the new architecture -- 1% of the funds under any project gets under corpus for green highways. We don't want to go with the same contractors. There would be a separate set of contractors. The process of identification is on," Road Transport and Highways Secretary Vijay Chhibber said.

Keen on transforming the NHs network 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.

The eco-friendly NHs will be developed with the participation of community, farmers, NGOs, private sector, government agencies and the Forest Department. "It has been decided that henceforth, for the work related to the greening of National Highways, 1% of the civil work cost should be added separately while arriving at the total project cost (TPC) of National Highways being developed on EPC/BOT mode," as per the ministry communication.

NHAI will act only as a Fund Manager for maintaining the account and releasing payments based on recommendation of concerned officials and agencies. "This Fund will be utilised for Plantation & Maintenance work on all stretches of National Highways," it said.

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