The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has introduced stricter compliance requirements for plantation and landscaping along National Highway projects, making these activities an integral part of project completion and maintenance.
Under the revised guidelines, median and avenue plantation must be carried out in accordance with the respective contract or concession agreement and applicable provisions of the Green Highways Policy, 2015, IRC:SP:21-2009, and other relevant guidelines issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and NHAI.
A key change is the introduction of a minimum plantation threshold for issuance of the Provisional Certificate of Completion (PCC) or Provisional Commercial Operation Date (PCOD). Plantation will be considered compliant only when work has been completed on at least 80% of the available Right of Way (ROW) earmarked for plantation, with planted saplings achieving a minimum 90% survival rate at the time of inspection.
Where plantation falls short of the prescribed 80% threshold, the shortfall must be clearly identified along with timelines for completing the remaining work. NHAI will also enforce appropriate financial withholdings, as provided under the relevant contract or concession agreement, until the balance plantation is completed and the prescribed target is achieved.
The guidelines also strengthen plantation maintenance requirements during the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) period. The release of O&M or annuity payments under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Annuity projects will be linked to maintaining a minimum 90% plant survival rate. Similar compliance will be considered for maintenance assessment in BOT-Toll projects.
NHAI has further mandated timely replacement of plants that do not survive. Replacement planting must use plants of similar age and growth to maintain uniformity and continuity of plantation along highway corridors. Before O&M or annuity payments are processed, or maintenance compliance is certified, NHAI will seek assistance from its engaged environment and plantation experts to verify field-level compliance and survival standards.
The revised requirements follow NHAI’s observation that plantation along highway medians and avenues—despite being a contractual obligation—was not always given adequate importance before PCC or PCOD was issued. The new framework seeks to place plantation management and environmental sustainability within the core implementation and maintenance framework of National Highway projects.
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