80% plantation and 90% survival: NHAI sets new green benchmark for highways

Minimum 80% plantation coverage and 90% sapling survival rate made mandatory before provisional completion certification

Ziraat Times Team Report

NEW DELHI, September 9: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has tightened compliance requirements for plantation and landscaping along National Highway projects, making these activities an integral part of project completion and maintenance.

Under revised guidelines, median and avenue plantation will have to be undertaken in accordance with the relevant contract or concession agreement and prescribed norms under the Green Highways Policy, 2015, IRC:SP:21-2009 and other guidelines issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and NHAI.

A key provision requires plantation to cover at least 80% of the available Right of Way (ROW) earmarked for plantation for a project to qualify for the Provisional Certificate of Completion (PCC) or Provisional Commercial Operation Date (PCOD).

In addition, the planted saplings must have a minimum survival rate of 90% at the time of inspection by NHAI officials.

The guidelines state that any plantation shortfall beyond the 80% threshold must be specifically recorded along with timelines for completing the remaining work.

NHAI will also enforce appropriate financial withholdings, wherever provided for under the relevant contract or concession agreement, until the outstanding plantation work is completed and the prescribed target achieved.

90% survival rate during O&M period

The revised norms also strengthen plantation maintenance requirements during the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) period.

Release of O&M or annuity payments for projects implemented under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Annuity models will be linked to maintaining a minimum 90% plant survival rate throughout the O&M period.

For BOT-Toll projects, maintenance compliance will similarly take into account the prescribed survival rate.

Mandatory replacement of dead plants

The guidelines require timely replacement of plants that die during the maintenance period.

In case of plant mortality, replacement must be undertaken with plants of similar age and growth to maintain uniformity and continuity of plantation along the highway corridor.

Before processing O&M or annuity payments, or certifying maintenance compliance, NHAI will seek technical assistance from environment and plantation experts engaged by the authority.

These experts will verify field-level compliance and assess whether the prescribed plant survival standards are being maintained.

NHAI said it had earlier observed that plantation development along highway medians and avenues—despite being a contractual obligation—was often not given adequate importance while issuing PCC or PCOD.

The revised guidelines are aimed at ensuring that plantation and environmental sustainability are incorporated into the core implementation and maintenance framework of National Highway projects.