International Journal of Advanced Research in Arts, Science, Engineering & Management (IJARASEM)

| ISSN: 2395-7852 | [Link] || Impact Factor: 5.649| Bimonthly, Peer Reviewed & Referred Journal|

| Volume 7, Issue 5, September 2020 |

Green Highways -A Step towards

Environment Conservation
Dr. Priti Mathur

Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Government Bangur PG College, Pali, Rajasthan, India

ABSTRACT: A green highway is a roadway constructed per a relatively new concept for roadway design that
integrates transportation functionality and ecological sustainability. An environmental approach is used throughout
the planning, design, and the construction. The result is a highway that will benefit transportation, the ecosystem,
urban growth, public health and surrounding communities.

Green Highways Partnership (GHP) is an alliance of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), other Federal agencies, State transportation and environmental agencies,
industry, trade associations, members of academia, and contractors to encourage environmentally friendly road
building.[1]
Another effort to create greener highways is a research program named Asphalt Research Consortium (ACR)
created by collaboration of FHWA, private institutions, and several universities. The program studies potential ways
to make asphalt more environmentally sustainable which will result in improved traffic safety and reduced life-cycle
cost.[2]
KEYWORDS-green,highway,sustainability,environmental,conservation,ecosystem

I. INTRODUCTION

A 2019 research project from the Cooperative Research Program [1,2,3]of the Transportation Research
Board determined the state-of-practice in highway construction sustainability and produced a guidebook for
practitioners as an aid in communicating, implementing, and evaluating sustainable highway construction. [3]

Benefits
When built to standards of the concept, green highways have invaluable benefits to environment. Since they are built
with permeable materials that provide superior watershed-driven stormwater management, leaching
of metals and toxins into streams and rivers is prevented. Landfill usage is favorably reduced as construction
involves recycled materials. In addition, by using cutting-edge technologies in design, critical habitats and
ecosystems are protected from the encroachment of highway infrastructure.[4]

Characteristics
To develop a green highway, a project can follow guidelines provided below by GHP: [5]

 Provide a net increase in environmental functions and values of a watershed.

 Go beyond minimum standards set by environmental laws and regulations.
 Identify and protect historic and cultural landmarks.
 Map all resources in the area in order to avoid, identify, and protect critical resource areas.
 Use innovative, natural methods to reduce imperviousness, and cleanse all runoff within the project area.
 Maximize use of existing transportation infrastructure, providing multi-modal transportation opportunities,
and promoting ride-sharing/public transportation.
 Use recycled materials to eliminate waste and reduce the energy required to build the highway.
 Link regional transportation plans with local land use partnerships.

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| Volume 7, Issue 5, September 2020 |

 Control populations of invasive species, and promoting the growth of native species.
 Incorporate post project monitoring to ensure environmental results.
 Protect the hydrology of wetlands and streams channels through restoration of natural drainage paths.
 Result in a suite of targeted environmental outcomes based upon local environmental needs.
 Reduce disruptions to ecological processes by promoting wildlife corridors and passages in areas identified
through wildlife conservation plans.
 Encourage smart growth by integrating and guiding future growth and capacity building with ecological
constraints.
Other parameters associated with green highways and green roads include:

 Trees saplings planted near the roads[6] includes varied species and may follow methods of polyculture.
Saplings are selected considering various reasons such as conservation need, aesthetics, maintenance costs,
spiritual and religious association, mythological reasons, heritage value, medicinal value, tolerance capacity,
nativity to the region, association with other species, canopy spread, safety to the drivers, benefit to the
community, benefit to the natural environment, etc.[7][8]
 Creating micro-forests[9][10] and urban forests near the highways and roads.
 Preference for planting tree saplings in multiple rows or lines, towards developing tree-zones or tree groves
near the roads.
 Creation, maintenance and protection of water-bodies near the roads (ponds, streams, rivers, wells etc.).
 Passenger waiting areas being environmentally-friendly (made from biodegradable, recycled, recyclable,
renewable resources).[7,5,8]

Technology
Green highway construction can incorporate several technical elements including, but not limited to: [11]

 Bioretention Swales
 Porous Pavements
 Environmentally Friendly concrete
 Forest Buffer
 Restored and Stormwater Wetlands
 Stream Restoration
 Wildlife crossing
 Soil amendments
 Stormwater Management with Pervious Concrete Pavement

Examples
U.S. Highway 301 Waldorf Transportation Improvements project is working towards becoming the nation’s first
truly green highway by incorporating the principles of the Green Highways Partnership and green infrastructure in
its earliest planning stages.[12] The project encompasses an area from MD 5 and US 301 interchange in Prince
George's County to the US 301 intersection with Washington Avenue and Turkey Hill Road in Charles County. [13] It
aims to improve the local traffic operation along US 301 while promoting and securing environmental
stewardship.[14]
Anacostia Watershed Protection: This pilot competition is designed to support the protection and restoration of
urban water resources through a holistic watershed approach to water quality management. Funding will be directed
to environmentally sound, watershed projects that stress a wide range of water quality improvement strategies and
targets.[15]

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| Volume 7, Issue 5, September 2020 |

II. DISCUSSION

The Green Highways Partnership (GHP) is a voluntary, public/private initiative that aims to encourage the building
of green highways and to encourage environmental stewardship through integrated planning, regulatory flexibility,
and market-based rewards.[1]

Goal
GHP originally formed to transform transportation infrastructure through environmental streamlining and
stewardship, within the mid-Atlantic region, including New Jersey and New York. By creating a precedent for cross-
sector partnering and integrated planning to achieve this ambitious goal, GHP is laying the groundwork for
nationwide transferability.

History
In 2002, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) named environmental stewardship and streamlining one of
three “vital few” goals (along with safety and congestion mitigation). After this, substantial FHWA investments
resulted in a wave of environmentally-focused programs such as Context Sensitive Solutions, the Exemplary
Ecosystem Initiative, and others. The FHWA consulted the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Mid-
Atlantic Region 3 and determined that the effort would require consolidation of the various programs and an
interconnected, multidisciplinary organization. They determined that market-based incentives would be the most
effective means to achieve their goals. After an executive planning charrette and culminating forum, followed by a
retreat, the Green Highways Partnership began.[9,10,11]

Strategy
With an extensive network of environmental, industrial and governmental collaborators, GHP advocates active
cooperation and regulatory progressiveness to move beyond the current paradigm. The combined resources of its
partner base allow Green Highways to ensure that sustainability becomes the driving force behind infrastructure
development.[1]
Because of GHP's large and diverse partner base, various perspectives can contribute to the green highway lifecycle
process. Green highways require integrated planning that takes into account perspectives of all stakeholders. GHP
often utilizes a charrette process to expedite the design process.[2]
III. RESULTS

Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari launched the Green Highways
(Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification & Maintenance) Policy, 2015 at a function organized in New Delhi
today. The aim of the policy is to promote greening of Highway corridors with participation of the community,
farmers, private sector, NGOs, and government institutions.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that 1% of the total project cost of all highways projects will be kept
aside for the highway plantation and its maintenance. He said that about Rs. 1000 crore per year will be available for
plantation purpose. He also said that this policy will generate employment opportunities for about five lakh people
from rural areas. He added that there will be strong monitoring mechanism in place by using ISRO’s Bhuvan and
GAGAN satellite systems. Every planted tree will be counted and auditing will be done. The agencies performing
good will be awarded. He called for suggestions from people for smooth implementation of the policy. He also
asked the state governments to start programmes on similar lines. Shri Gadkari said that 1200 road side amenities
will also be established. The Green Highway Policy will help in making India pollution free, the minister added. It
will also help in curtailing the number of road accidents in India. He said that the vision of the policy is to provide
dignified employment to local people and communities.

Addressing the conference, Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Pon.
Radhakrishnan said that it is a historic occasion and a noble initiative that depicts the Government’s concern for

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| Volume 7, Issue 5, September 2020 |

conservation of environment. He said the present Government has taken various initiatives to cut pollution by
promoting bio-fuel and e-rickshaws, and now the Green Highways Policy has been launched for roadside plantation
in this respect.

Speaking at the conference, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Shri Vijay Chhibber said that the
vision of the policy is to involve the local communities in the plantation work. He said that the National Forest
Policy envisages 33% of the geographical area should be under forest or tree cover, but the notified forest cover is
only about 22%. The implementation of new Green Highways Policy can help in bridging this gap, he added. He
said that the emphasis is not only on the trees planted, but also on how many of them survive and are useful for the
local communities. [12,13,15]

Key features of Green Highways Policy 2015

 Promote greening and development eco-friendly National Highway corridors across the country with
participation of farmers, private sector and government institutions including Forest Department.
 It will address the issues that lie in the road of development and pave the way towards sustainable
development.
 Objective: To reduce the impact of air pollution and dust by planting trees and shrubs along the National
Highways. They will act as natural sink for air pollutants and arrest soil erosion at the embankment slopes.
 Stake holders: Contracts for greening highways will be given to NGOS, agencies, private companies and
government organisations. These stakeholders will be responsible for the survival and health of trees.
 Planting of trees in any particular area will depend on the soil suitability and climatic conditions.
 Monitoring Agency: It will be responsible for monitoring the plantation status on continuous basis by
carrying out the site visit for field verification to check survival, growth and size of plantation and
maintenance of the same.
 Performance audit of executing agencies will be regularly conducted by the agency on an Annual basis.
New contracts will be awarded to the agencies based on their past performance audit.
Implications: The policy will strike a balance between highways development and environmental protection. It will
also help in providing employment to 5 lakh people of the rural areas.[17,18,19]

The Government of India and the World Bank have signed an agreement for the construction of Green National
Highway Corridors Project (GNHCP) in an aggregate length of 781 km in the states of Himachal Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, with loan assistance of US $ 500 million against total project cost of
US $ 1288.24 million (Rs. 7,662.47 crore). The objective of the GNHCP is to demonstrate safe and green highway
keeping in view climate resilience and use of green technologies by incorporating the provisions of conservation of
natural resources using cement treated sub base/reclaimed asphalt pavement, use of local/ marginal material such as
lime, fly ash, waste plastic, bio-engineering measures for slope protection such as hydroseeding, coco/jute fibre etc.,
which will enhance the ability of Ministry to bring Green technologies into the mainstream.

The National Green Highways Mission (NGHM) was launched in 2015 to establish green corridors along the
national highways in the country. The mission was launched by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

 The mission aims at planting trees/vegetation along the national highways and also providing employment
to people.
 The features of the project are plantation, transplantation, beautification and maintenance.
 The objective behind having tree-lined highways is not just to improve the aesthetics of the roads but also
to mitigate the biodiversity degradation caused from highway development.
 The mission also envisages creating jobs for the local youth through tree planting.
 The mission is in line with the Green Highways Policy which was released by the Ministry in 2015.

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| Volume 7, Issue 5, September 2020 |

 The mission envisions creating green belts along the highways for sustainable development and inclusive
growth.
 Greening highways can reduce carbon emissions, conserve biodiversity, increase agroforestry and develop
carbon sinks while providing jobs and generating resources at the local level.[20,21]

Significance of the National Green Highways Mission

In view of the rising climate change-related adverse events, unabated infrastructure and road development for
economic prosperity without regard to the environmental consequences, such a scheme by the government holds
significance since it aims at mitigating the loss of vegetation that is inevitable with developmental works.

 According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the national highways account for about
2% of the Indian roads and 40% of the automobile traffic is on this network.
 The current carbon dioxide emission on this network is 391 million tonnes which is expected to reach 966
million tonnes by 2030.
 Creating green corridors along this network is expected to help India achieve its commitment at CoP 21 in
Paris in 2015 of achieving a 35% reduction in carbon emissions.
 Creating green highways is also a good post-COVID management strategy in light of its socio-economic
impact and environment contributions.
 These green highways can serve as hubs for agroforestry and repository of raw materials for
plantation-based industries.
 This will generate plenty of employment and entrepreneurship and can create an innovative green
highways-based MSME (micro, small and medium) ecosystem.[19,20]
 Another important aspect of the mission is that it is not about indiscriminately planting trees. A plantation
species matrix was drawn for each area so that native species and those trees that suit the terrain and
weather could be planted there.

Green Highways Policy, 2015

The government of India promulgated the Green Highways Policy in 2015 with the aim of promoting the greening
and development of eco-friendly National Highway corridors across the country with the participation of farmers,
private sector and government institutions including the Forest Department.

The objectives of the policy are:

1. To evolve a policy framework for plantation along National Highways

2. To decrease the impact of air pollution and dust as shrubs and trees are known to be natural sink for air
pollutants
3. To provide the much needed shade on glaring hot roads during the summer months
4. To lessen the impact of noise pollution caused due to a rise in the number of vehicles
5. To arrest soil erosion at the embankment slopes
6. To prevent glare from the headlight of incoming vehicles
7. To moderate the effect of wind and incoming radiation
8. To generate employment opportunities for local people
Under the policy, the contract for creating green highways would be given to government organisations, private
companies, NGOs, agencies, etc. They will be responsible for the survival and health of the trees planted.[18,19]

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| Volume 7, Issue 5, September 2020 |

Green National Highways Corridor Project

In December 2019, the government of India and the World Bank signed a $500 million project called the Green
National Highways Corridors Project. This Project will support the National Green Highways Mission in
implementing the National Green Highways Policy. The project will also enhance the capacity of the Ministry of
Road Transport and Highways in mainstreaming safety and green technologies.

There are three components of the Project:

1. Green Highway Corridor Improvement and Maintenance: Five years upgrading and maintenance of about
783 km of selected existing National Highways in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra
Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
2. Institutional Capacity Enhancement: Supporting the Ministry’s capacity building to preserve natural
resources and enhance climate vulnerability of the National Highways network and minimise Greenhouse
Gas emissions.
3. Road safety: Providing support to improve road safety data analytics and highway safety monitoring and
implementation.
IV. CONCLUSION

NH stretches to turn green corridors

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has come up with an initiative which aims at turning
National Highways (NH) stretches into Green Corridors.
How?
The National Highway (NH) stretches will be made green corridors by planting trees, landscaping, and laying grass
turfs and ornamental shrubs.[20]
Other details:
 This initiative to make the NH stretches eco-friendly is part of the green highways policy to “tree-line”
96,000 km of NHs across the country.
 Funding: A Green Highways Fund would be set apart utilising 1% of the civil work cost while arriving at
total road project cost.
 The funds to be transferred to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) would be used exclusively
for plantation and maintenance on all NH stretches being developed on the Engineering Procurement
Construction (EPC) and Build Operate Transfer (BOT) mode.
 The NHAI will act as Fund Manager for maintaining the account and for release of the payments made by
the Regional Officer or Project Director based on the recommendation of the monitoring agency-Indian
Highways Management Company Ltd (IHMCL).
 Initially, at least one NH corridor in each State would be taken up for model plantation, which would be
replicated in other stretches subsequently. The plantation and maintenance would be done through
empanelled agencies of MoRTH through competitive bidding.
 The Green Highways (Plantation and Maintenance) Policy, 2015 will be effective for all the new NH
projects to be sanctioned from September this year.
Green Highway (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy 2015
 Aims to help environment, help local communities, and generate employment
 First year target to cover 6000Km
 Green Highways Fund: 1% of total cost of highway projects
 The objectives of the policy include developing a policy framework for the plantation of trees along
highways, reducing the impact of air pollution and dust, providing shade on glaring hot roads during
summer, reducing the impact of noise pollution and soil erosion, preventing the glare from the headlights of
incoming vehicles, and generating employment

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| Volume 7, Issue 5, September 2020 |

 There will be a strong monitoring mechanism in place 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
receive annual awards
Issues:
 4/6 lane highways, with dividers makes it impossible for animals with calves to cross roads leading to
accidents and balkanisation of forest areas
 Curtails gene flow that is crucial for sustaining healthy wildlife populations and ecosystems
 National Wildlife Action Plan 2002-2016

 Emphasis on bypassing national parks and sanctuaries. Ignored.
 Need of “Smart Highways”

 Carefully conceived underpasses, overpasses, flyovers and canopy bridges, which traditional
animal behavior and wildlife movement in consideration.[21]

REFERENCES

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January 2016.
3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
4. ^ "NHAI Road Network". NHAI. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
5. ^ "NHAI signs MoU". Business Standard. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
6. ^ a b "NHAI Official Website". NHAI. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 9
January 2016.
7. ^ "NHAI plans toll collection at Kaniyur shortly". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
8. ^ "NHAI creates Guinness World Record, Nitin Gadkari says 'Proud moment for India'". Moneycontrol.
Retrieved 9 June 2018.
9. ^ "SARDP-NE" (PDF). [Link]. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
10. ^ "Golden Quadrilateral Highway Network". Road Traffic Technology. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
11. ^ "Indian Road network". National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Archived from the original on 14
April 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
12. ^ "NHDP programme". National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Archived from the original on 4 March
2016. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
14. ^ a b "Express Exclusive: World Bank cries fraud, graft in highways projects". Indian Express.
15. ^ "Corporation to focus on public transport | Kochi News". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
16. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
17. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 20
December 2018.
18. ^ "National Green Highway Mission : Environment for UPSC Exams | IAS EXAM PORTAL - India's Largest
Community for UPSC Exam Aspirants". [Link].
19. ^ "Green Highways (Plantation & Maintenance) Policy-2015 - India Environment Portal | News, reports,
documents, blogs, data, analysis on environment & development | India, South
Asia". [Link].
20. ^ "Finance ministry rejects Rs 5,000 crore green fund project by road ministry, NHAI". [Link].
17 August 2016.
21. ^ "NHAI launches 'Harit Path' a mobile app to monitor plantation along national highways". [Link].
Retrieved 1 September 2019.

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