The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has tightened requirements for plantation along the medians and avenues of National Highway projects before provisional completion certificates are issued.
Under the revised norms, plantation work must comply with the relevant contract or concession agreement and the prescribed requirements under the Green Highways Policy, 2015, along with applicable guidelines issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and NHAI.
80% plantation, 90% survival rate mandatory
A key change is the introduction of a minimum plantation threshold for the issuance of the provisional certificate of completion (PCC) or provisional commercial operation date (PCOD).
NHAI said plantation will qualify for provisional completion certification only if work has been completed across at least 80% of the available Right of Way (ROW) identified for plantation. The saplings planted must also have a minimum survival rate of 90% when the site is inspected by officials.
Any plantation shortfall beyond the 80% requirement will have to be clearly reported, along with a specific deadline for completing the remaining work. Financial amounts may be withheld under the applicable contract or concession agreement until the pending plantation is completed and the required target is met.
90% survival rate to continue during O&M period
NHAI has also introduced stricter requirements for maintaining plantations after a highway becomes operational. During the operations and maintenance (O&M) period, plantation survival will be monitored as part of maintenance compliance.
For projects executed under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), hybrid annuity mode (HAM) and build-operate-transfer (BOT) annuity models, the release of O&M or annuity payments will be linked to maintaining a minimum 90% survival rate throughout the O&M period.
For BOT-Toll projects, compliance with the plantation maintenance requirement will also be considered while assessing overall maintenance performance.
The authority said plantation along highway medians and avenues is already a contractual requirement, but it had observed that the obligation was not always given adequate importance while issuing PCC or PCOD for National Highway projects.
The revised framework is intended to make plantation and its long-term upkeep an integral part of both the construction and maintenance of National Highway projects, in line with NHAI’s broader focus on environmental sustainability.