THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When the National Highways Authority of India envisioned an ambitious plan to reduce the travel time between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram from 15 hours to just seven, the cost paid was green, quite literally. As many as 74,921 trees were felled for highway development across the state. Although replantation has been promised, progress has been snail-paced.
The plan was to plant ten times the number of trees that were cut. However, the actual replantation so far stands at just 55,540. Therefore, a total of 6,93,670 saplings are yet to be planted. Currently, replantation efforts are only taking place in two areas: Kadampattukonam-Kazhakoottam in Thiruvananthapuram and Thalappady - Kalikkadavu in Kasaragod.
The goal is to complete the replantation in tandem with the highway project, but according to officials from the Social Forestry Department, the delay is largely due to the difficulty in identifying suitable land. “As there are challenges in identifying land for the project, we are considering alternatives such as block planting, ‘Nagaravanam’ (urban forests), and ‘Vidyavanam’ (school forests). For the 23 stretches across nine districts, proposals for compensatory afforestation are being prepared. These will be submitted to the NHAI for fund release,” said Ajay Ghosh, an official with the state social forestry department.
Of the 55,540 plants currently on the ground, 23,540 are in Kozhikode, 24,000 have been planted at Sainik School, Thiruvananthapuram, and 8,000 at the Greenfield Stadium in the same district.
NHAI, which is constrained by land availability, has signed an MoU with the social forestry department to identify planting locations and submit cost estimates.
“There is no delay from our side in fund disbursement. We have already allocated funds for stretches in Kasaragod, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. For the remaining areas, we are awaiting estimates from the social forestry department,” said an NHAI official who wished to remain anonymous.
As the social forestry department has proposed a shift from the original 1:10 planting scheme to the Nagaravanam and Vidyavanam models, NHAI has stated that they have got the revised plan approved.
Also, the social forestry department has shifted from district-wise bank accounts to a single statewide account for fund transfer. And, NHAI is awaiting the details of this new account. “For Malappuram, the funds are ready, but since the new account hasn’t been finalised, we haven’t been able to make the transfer,” added the NHAI official.
In Alappuzha and Kollam, NHAI is currently processing the approval for the new afforestation scheme. In Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur, estimates from district forest officers are still pending.
For Kozhikode, Rs 90 lakh was already disbursed, leading to the plantation of 23,540 saplings. Further estimates are yet to be submitted. Thiruvananthapuram also needs to submit new estimates for areas beyond those already covered. In Kasaragod, Rs 2.21 crore has been released, and work is currently in progress.
As afforestation efforts remain caught in a bureaucratic bottleneck, the true cost of a sustainable future is coming under serious question.