NGHM begins green highway mission in Northeast

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, August 10: The tiol Green Highway Mission began its journey in the Northeast India this morning at the Jorabat-Sopur stretch of tiol Highway 37, when Chief General Mager (NE) of tiol Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Raj Chakravarty planted the first sapling in the presence of senior NHAI officials.

Speaking on the occasion, Chakravarty said that over the time entire tiol highways of the region would be covered under the mission, and as a pilot project initially work started in a nine-kilometre stretch between Jorabat and Totaptoli on NH-37.

This is the first plantation on the highway in this part of the country under the NGHM following the launch of the Green Highway on July 1 at New Delhi by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkri.

Chakravarty also said that besides shade trees on either side at an interval of 12 metres each, there will be medians with plants being planted at an interval of 3 metres each. Vendors and NGOs manning the plantation shall have to maintain the stretch for five years as per the MoU.

The NGHM laid an ambitious plan of planting 10 crore shade trees along the tiol highway and the NHAI has set aside 1 per cent from the road construction budget for this project.

The ambitious project plan to create job opportunities for 1 lakh people for the project as the plantation is being carried out by start-ups and vendors, besides NGOs involved in similar projects.

Under this initiative, a plantation drive on 1,500 km of tiol highways was launched at a cost of about Rs 300 crore.

The mission aims to provide a green canopy along 1,00,000 km of highways and create jobs for 1 million youth.

Three stretches of tiol highway of the North East India have been incorporated in the pilot project. The other two stretches are at Amingaoan and at Bijni sector.