Lok Sabha Question No. 1458 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-13
Subject: National Green Highways Policy
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Pradyut Bordoloi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1458 ANSWERED ON 13 TH FEBRUARY, 2025

NATIONAL GREEN HIGHWAYS POLICY

1458. SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI:

Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

be pleased to state:

(a)  the  details  regarding  the  number  of  trees  that  have  been  cut  and uprooted since the Green Highways Policy was introduced and the number of trees that have been planted in the same period, under the policy, Statewise;

(b)  the  details  regarding  the  targets  set  for  the  number  of  saplings  to  be planted and the length of highways to be covered and the actual number of saplings planted and highways covered, year-wise;

(c)  the  details  regarding  the  survival  rates  of  saplings  planted  under  the policy and the national average of the same, State-wise;

(d) whether trees planted under the policy have been felled for expansion of the highways and if so, the details thereof; and

(e) whether only species native to their respective region have been planted under the policy and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

(a)     Bare  minimum  number  of  trees  have  been  felled  for  development  of National Highways (NHs) and after obtaining permission of the competent authority. Details  of  number  of  trees  felled  is  attached  as Annexure-I and  details  of year-wise trees planted since 2015-2016 is attached as Annexure-II as per Green Highway Policy 2015 and IRC-SP-21-2009. (b)  Specific  targets  are  set  each  year  through  the  formulation  of  Annual Plantation  Action  Plans.  The  targets  for  the  number  of  saplings  to  be planted and the length of highways to be covered are determined based on the availability of plantable land in medians and the Right of Way (RoW) of highways. For the year 2024-25, a target of 61.86 lakh saplings was set. As of  January  31,  2025,  a  total  of  67.14  lakh  saplings  have  been  planted, surpassing the target. (c)  As  per  the  contract  agreement  the  responsibility  of  rectification  of defect/ deficiency such as deterioration in health of trees and bushes, Trees and  bushes  requiring  replacement,  etc.  lies  with  the  contractor  and  the same is ensured by field units. State-wise survival rates of saplings planted under the Green Highways Policy are provided in Annexure-III.

(d)  During Widening/Up-gradation of the road as per NH Specifications, the trees  that  were  marked  under  peripheral/  ROW  are  felled  as  per  the guidelines of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and with the assistance of concern forest department.

(e)  The  species  planted  are  in  accordance  with  IRC:  SP:21-2009  and  the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification & Maintenance) Policy 2015.  These guidelines mandate the selection of plant species based on  local  agro-climatic  conditions,  soil  type,  and  ecological  suitability  to ensure maximum survival and environmental sustainability.

ANNEXURE I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1458 ON 13 TH FEBRUARY, 2025 ASKED SHRI  PRADYUT  BORDOLOI  REGARDING  'NATIONAL  GREEN  HIGHWAYS POLICY"

## Number of Trees Felled during 2020-21 to 2023-24

|   Sl. No. | Regional Office   | Number of trees felled   |
|-----------|-------------------|--------------------------|
|         1 | Karnataka         | 539,086                  |
|         2 | Madhya Pradesh    | 158,463                  |
|         3 | Odisha            | 577,794                  |
|         4 | Chandigarh (HR)   | 213,697                  |
|         5 | Chandigarh (PB)   | 311,019                  |
|         6 | Tamil Nadu        | 39,542                   |
|         7 | Uttarakhand       | 33,991                   |
|         8 | Delhi             | 259,378                  |
|         9 | Gujarat           | 761,282                  |
|        10 | Assam             | 94,849                   |
|        11 | Telangana         | 39,852                   |
|        12 | Madhya Pradesh    | 154,293                  |
|        13 | Rajasthan         | 61,177                   |
|        14 | Jammu & Kashmir   | 113,825                  |
|        15 | West Bengal       | 144,626                  |
|        16 | Tamil Nadu        | 79,807                   |
|        17 | Maharashtra       | 162,382                  |
|        18 | Maharashtra       | 289,001                  |
|        19 | Bihar             | 158,103                  |
|        20 | Chattisgarh       | 208,199                  |
|        21 | Jharkhand         | 105,753                  |
|        22 | Himachal Pradesh  | 82,265                   |
|        23 | Kerala            | 68,916                   |
|        24 | UP                | 195,798                  |
|        25 | UP                | 345,776                  |
|        26 | Andhra Pradesh    | 108,433                  |
|        27 | Manipur           | 1,17,812                 |
|        28 | Nagaland          | 74,453                   |
|        29 | Tripura           | 31,655                   |
|        30 | Arunachal Pradesh | 44,180                   |
|        31 | Meghalaya         | 19,530                   |
|        32 | Mizoram           | 38,764                   |
|        33 | Sikkim            | 76,893                   |

ANNEXURE II

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1458 ON 13 TH FEBRUARY, 2025 ASKED SHRI  PRADYUT  BORDOLOI  REGARDING  'NATIONAL  GREEN  HIGHWAYS POLICY"

|   Sl N o. | Sta te            |   Cumula tive Pla ntation of 3 Ye ars (20 15-16 t o 2017- 18) ( No. o f Plants in Aven ue & M edian P lantati on in L akh) | Plantati on in 20 18-19 (No. of Plants i n Avenu e & Med ian Plan tation in Lakh)   | Plantati on in 20 19-20 (No. of Plants i n Avenu e & Med ian Plan tation in Lakh)   |   Plantati on in 20 20-21 (No. of Plants i n Avenu e & Med ian Plan tation in Lakh) |   Plantati on in 20 21-22 (No. of Plants i n Avenu e & Med ian Plan tation in Lakh) |   Plantati on in 20 22-23 (No. of Plants i n Avenu e & Med ian Plan tation in Lakh) |   Plantati on in 2 023-24 (No. of Plants i n Aven ue & M edian P lantatio n in La kh) |   Plantati on in 2 024-25 (till 31s t Janua ry 2025 ) (No. of Plants i n Aven ue & M edian P lantatio n in La kh) |
|-----------|-------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | And hra Pra des h |                                                                                                                       6.34 | 1.47 4.8                                                                            |                                                                                     |                                                                                3.01 |                                                                                1.67 |                                                                                1.58 |                                                                                  1.14 |                                                                                                              2.11 |
|         2 | Ass am            |                                                                                                                       1.01 | 0.73                                                                                | 0.04                                                                                |                                                                                2.55 |                                                                                1.73 |                                                                                0.93 |                                                                                  2.74 |                                                                                                              1.32 |
|         3 | Bih ar            |                                                                                                                       1.62 | 0.64                                                                                | 0.93                                                                                |                                                                                0.72 |                                                                                2.03 |                                                                                2.12 |                                                                                  2.38 |                                                                                                              3.35 |
|         4 | Chh atti sga rh   |                                                                                                                       2.02 | 0.86                                                                                | 0.54                                                                                |                                                                                1.18 |                                                                                1.02 |                                                                                1.33 |                                                                                  1.17 |                                                                                                              1.05 |
|         5 | Del hi            |                                                                                                                       0.5  | 5.5                                                                                 | 0.02                                                                                |                                                                                2.13 |                                                                                9.5  |                                                                                3.44 |                                                                                  3.6  |                                                                                                              8.95 |
|         6 | Guj ara t         |                                                                                                                       4.96 | 0.65                                                                                | 1.06                                                                                |                                                                                2.78 |                                                                                2.38 |                                                                                4.51 |                                                                                  3.69 |                                                                                                              5.34 |
|         7 | Har yan           |                                                                                                                       6.46 | 4.25                                                                                | 0.28                                                                                |                                                                                2.52 |                                                                                1.59 |                                                                                2.19 |                                                                                  2.98 |                                                                                                              5.59 |

| a          |                         |      |      |      |      |      |       |      |      |
|------------|-------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|-------|------|------|
| 8          | ma cha l Pr ade sh 0.16 | 0.08 | 0.23 |      | 0.68 | 0.71 |  0.82 | 0.32 | 0.62 |
| 9          | Ja mm u & Kas hmi r     | 0.41 | 0.38 | 0.06 | 0.13 | 0.47 |  0.87 | 0.87 | 1.17 |
| 10         | Jha rkh and             | 1.32 | 0.86 | 0.26 | 1.16 | 2.53 |  1.07 | 0.92 | 1.01 |
| 11         | Kar nat aka 7.51        |      | 1.75 | 3.73 | 3.51 | 3.73 |  2.86 | 2.23 | 2.79 |
| 12         | Ker ala                 | 0.9  | 0.24 | 0.15 | 0.33 | 0.24 |  0.16 | 0.18 | 0.03 |
| 13         | Ma dhy a P rad esh      | 0.49 | 2.31 | 5.3  | 3.94 | 5.77 | 10.18 | 7.04 | 8.49 |
| 14         | Ma har ash tra          | 7.46 | 0.64 | 4.62 | 4.22 | 7.97 |  6.04 | 5.25 | 3.98 |
| 15         | Odi sha                 | 2.91 | 2.04 | 1.73 | 2.9  | 3.78 |  3.4  | 2.68 | 2.53 |
| 16 Pun jab |                         | 3.98 | 0    | 1.98 | 4.81 | 2.96 |  2.45 | 2.33 | 4.36 |
| 17         | Raj ast han             | 8.1  | 1.52 | 2.07 | 4.79 | 9.45 | 12.46 | 8.1  | 4.19 |
| 18         | Ta mil Na du 6.44       |      | 1.82 | 2.92 | 2.86 | 2.47 |  2.55 | 2.62 | 4.16 |
| 19         | Tel ang                 | 3.09 | 0.18 | 0.59 | 3.27 | 2.18 |  2.74 | 0.74 | 0.71 |

| ana           | ana              |   ana |    ana |     ana |     ana | ana              | ana      |
|---------------|------------------|-------|--------|---------|---------|------------------|----------|
| 20            | ar Pra des 6.74  |  3.8  | 3.56   | 6.31    | 5.41    | 6.27 4.81        | 3.36     |
| 21            | Utt ara kha nd 0 |  0.52 | 0.15   | 2.1     | 2.12    | 1.23 0.56        | 0.39     |
| 22 st Ben     | 3.85             |  1.03 | 1.2    | 3.04    | 2.38    | 2.37 1.87        | 1.16     |
| 23 Tri pur a  | 0                |  0    | 0.0515 | 0.0164  | 0.042   | 0.0027 0.0552    | 0.0053 8 |
| 24 Ma nip ur  | 0                |  0    | 0      | 0.10973 | 0.0255  | 0.02957 0.0189 1 | 0.0783 3 |
| 25 Na gal and | 0                |  0    | 0      | 0       | 0.1391  | 0.27508 0.3422   | 0.3311 8 |
| 26 gha lay a  | 0                |  0    | 0      | 0       | 0       | 0 0              | 0.0018   |
| 27 Miz ora m  | 0                |  0    | 0      | 0       | 0       | 0 0              | 0.0054 8 |
| 28 kim        | Sik 0            |  0    | 0      | 0       | 0.03355 | 0.026 0          | 0        |

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1458 ON 13 TH FEBRUARY, 2025 ASKED SHRI  PRADYUT  BORDOLOI  REGARDING  'NATIONAL  GREEN  HIGHWAYS POLICY"

| Survival Rates of Saplings Planted along Highways   | Survival Rates of Saplings Planted along Highways   | Survival Rates of Saplings Planted along Highways   |
|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No.                                             | State                                               | Survival Rate %                                     |
| 1                                                   | Andhra Pradesh                                      | 82.25%                                              |
| 2                                                   | Assam                                               | 82.02%                                              |
| 3                                                   | Bihar                                               | 76.41%                                              |
| 4                                                   | Chhattisgarh                                        | 86.91%                                              |
| 5                                                   | Delhi                                               | 81.34%                                              |
| 6                                                   | Gujarat                                             | 83.15%                                              |
| 7                                                   | Haryana                                             | 86.97%                                              |
| 8                                                   | Himachal Pradesh                                    | 90.63%                                              |
| 9                                                   | Jammu & Kashmir                                     | 80.30%                                              |
| 10                                                  | Jharkhand                                           | 73.06%                                              |
| 11                                                  | Karnataka                                           | 83.93%                                              |
| 12                                                  | Kerala                                              | 91.50%                                              |
| 13                                                  | Madhya Pradesh                                      | 82.16%                                              |
| 14                                                  | Maharashtra                                         | 84.85%                                              |
| 15                                                  | Odisha                                              | 76.08%                                              |
| 16                                                  | Punjab                                              | 87.60%                                              |
| 17                                                  | Rajasthan                                           | 75.35%                                              |
| 18                                                  | Tamil Nadu                                          | 79.00%                                              |
| 19                                                  | Telangana                                           | 93.35%                                              |
| 20                                                  | Uttar Pradesh                                       | 83.42%                                              |
| 21                                                  | Uttarakhand                                         | 93.15%                                              |
| 22                                                  | West Bengal                                         | 80.45%                                              |
| 23                                                  | Manipur                                             | 90%                                                 |
| 24                                                  | Nagaland                                            | 70%                                                 |
| 25                                                  | Tripura                                             | 70%                                                 |

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