NEW DELHI: Failing to take off for last two years after objections by the Ministry of Finance over funding pattern, Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari’s key project of greening highways will now seek funds through grant-based schemes of government and corporate sectors.
A meeting was held for reviewing policy guidelines with respect to implementation of Green Highways Policy under the chairmanship of Gadkari along with all stakeholders. The initial plan of the ministry was to create a ‘green fund’ by setting aside 1 percent of highway project cost to provide green cover along highways. The proposal was rejected by the finance ministry in August 2016.
The ministry has now decided that the Green Highways Division, which shall work under the National Highway Authority of India, shall make efforts to receive funds/grants for the Green Highways Program, under the Corporate Social Responsibility or other grants based schemes of PSSUs/corporate and other institutions.
“It was felt that a uniform standard operating procedure should be adopted for streamlining implementation of Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy – 2015,” according to the directive issued by the ministry.
The ministry previously estimated that setting up such a green fund will entail an expenditure of Rs 5,000 crore but the finance ministry said that a similar kind of fund Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) is already in place with the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and this will double the efforts.
The Green Highways Division has been empowered to empanel and award work to competent agencies.
“Ministry of Rural Development having detailed directions for roadside plantations and maintenance works shall be adopted for project cost estimation,” said the ministry.
Union government in September 2015 had launched the Green Highways Policy to promote greening of 1 lakh kilometer highways corridors with participation of the community, farmers, private sector, NGOs and government institutions.
The Indian road network 33 lakh km is the second largest in the world and consists of about 96,000 kms of NHs, which constitute only 1.7 percent of the road network but carry about 40 percent of the total road traffic.