TIRUPATI/NELLORE: A plant traditionally associated with weddings, natural hair colouring and traditional medicine is finding a new role along the Nellore-Naidupeta highway corridor. Lawsonia inermis, popularly known as henna or ‘gorintaku’, is being planted along highway medians, raising an interesting question: can a commercially valuable traditional plant also contribute to road safety?
The National Green Highways Mission guidelines explicitly include Lawsonia inermis among the shrubs suitable for median plantations. Based on IRC SP 21:2009 principles, the guidelines favour pollution-resistant, dwarf shrubs that can reduce headlight glare from vehicles travelling in the opposite direction. Lawsonia inermis is classified as a tolerant, quick-growing evergreen shrub, with an April-July flowering season and a suitability score of 3.79.
Highway median plantations serve purposes beyond beautification. Properly designed and maintained green barriers help reduce glare, improve driving comfort and contribute to road safety. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ specifications for four-laning projects also call for shrubs on stretches where the median is wider than 2.5 metres.
The Nellore-Naidupeta corridor is part of this approach, with ‘gorintaku’, yellow bells and bougainvillea among the plants used along highway stretches. Their selection depends on local conditions and the landscaping plans adopted by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and its maintenance agencies.
The Indian Institute of Science’s India Flora/Flora of Peninsular India database describes Lawsonia inermis as a shrub or small tree belonging to the Lythraceae family. It records the species in Nellore district and several other parts of Andhra Pradesh and notes its commercial cultivation for henna.
However, plantation alone is not enough. A 2026 study involving researchers, including Varun Kumar Reja of IIT Bombay and researchers from the University of Cambridge, cautioned that unattended roadside vegetation could pose a significant road safety hazard. Regular pruning, height control, replacement of dead plants, irrigation management and keeping median openings clear are therefore essential.
Speaking to TNIE, Shivakumar, Project Director of NHAI’s Chittoor region, said the primary objective of median plantations was to prevent glare from headlights of vehicles travelling in the opposite direction. There was no single plant species prescribed for all medians, with the choice depending on local conditions and landscaping plans for individual stretches, he said. Around 200 km of National Highways fall under the Chittoor region.
The Green Highways Policy, 2015, provides a framework for plantation, transplantation, beautification and maintenance. In a reply to the Rajya Sabha in February 2026, the Ministry said plantations were being undertaken along available highway right-of-way areas and medians wherever feasible to reduce air pollution, dust and noise, provide shade, prevent soil erosion and minimise headlight glare.
To improve maintenance, NHAI issued revised compliance guidelines on September 9, 2026.
More than 3.61 crore saplings were planted along approximately 1.32 lakh km of National Highways across the country during the preceding five years, according to NHAI. The initiative also includes drone-based monitoring.
For nearby villagers, however, ‘gorintaku’ has an additional benefit. P Sunitha, a homemaker from Bhudanam village in Chillakuru mandal of Nellore district, told TNIE that gorintaku plants growing along the median of the Nellore-Chennai highway had become a natural source of decorative material for families in surrounding villages.