Green National Highways Corridor Project

Why in News

The government and the World Bank has signed a $500 million project for implementation of the Green National Highways Corridor Project.

Key Points

• Green National Highways Corridor Project:
  
  • The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had launched a National Green Highways Mission (NGHM) following the promulgation of ‘Green Highways Policy’ in September 2015.
  • The Green National Highways Corridor Projects (GNHCP) supports the implementation of the NGHM and the provision of green and safe transport.
  • The objective of the Project is to demonstrate safe and green National Highway corridors in selected States and enhance the institutional capacity of the MoRTH in mainstreaming safety and green technologies.
• Three Components of the Project:
  
  • Green Highway Corridor Improvement and Maintenance:
    
    • This includes upgradation and maintenance for five years of about 783 km of selected existing National Highways in the states of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
  • Institutional Capacity Enhancement:
    
    • It will support the capacity enhancement of MoRTH in its pursuit to conserve natural resources and improve climate vulnerability of the National Highways network and reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
  • Road Safety:
    
    • It will provide support to improve road safety data analytics and highway safety monitoring and implementation.
• About the Pact between the Government and the World Bank:
  
  • The USD 500 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), an arm of the World Bank, has a maturity of 18.5 years including a five-year grace period.
• Significance of the Project:
  
  • The National Highways of India carry about 40% of road traffic. However, several sections of these highways have inadequate capacity, weak drainage structures and black spots prone to accidents.
  • The ultimate objective of transport infrastructure is to provide seamless connectivity and reduce logistics costs.
  • Historically, the transport sector in India has offered limited employment opportunities for women. The project will support the ministry with an in-depth analysis of gender-related issues in the transport sector along with help in creating jobs for women by training women-led micro enterprises and women collectives to implement green technologies in the highway corridors.
  • It will also support the Bharatmala Pariyojana Program (BPP).

Key Features of Green Highways Policy 2015

• Promote greening and development of eco-friendly National Highway corridors across the country with participation of farmers, private sector and government institutions including the Forest Department.
• It addresses the issues that lie in the road of development and shows the way towards sustainable development.
  
  • Planting of trees in any particular area will depend on the soil suitability and climatic conditions.
• Its objective is to reduce the impact of air pollution and dust by planting trees and shrubs along the National Highways. They will act as natural sinks for air pollutants and arrest soil erosion at the embankment slopes.

Source: IE