https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

How Green Cover Index Will Pave the Way for Greener Highways

NHAI will prepare ‘Green Cover Index’ for greener highways in next 3 years A pilot project has been highly successful Under ‘Green Highways Policy 15’, NHAI is focussing on environment -friendly highways
Indian Masterminds Stories

It is a fact that by leveraging emerging technologies, government departments are successfully managing to provide better services to the public. However, nowhere is technology being put to so good use than in the preparation of the ‘Green Cover Index’ by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), which will be completed in the next 3 years.

On completion, it will monitor the plantations and greenery along the National Highways of India. This index aims to achieve sector-wise green cover index in the first assessment cycle.

The findings of the index will facilitate comparison and ranking of various National Highways for timely and periodic interventions. Since green cover will be estimated for every 1 km length of National Highways, it will be possible to generate detailed metrics even for individual projects.

Indian Masterminds interacted with 1983 batch retired Indian Forest Service officer and Advisor (Plantation), NHAI, Mr. Ashok Kumar Jain, to know more about this green initiative. Mr. Jain played an important role in this initiative and in the signing of the related MoU.

GREEN COVER INDEX

The government launched Green Highways Policy in 2015. Since then, the greening of Highway Corridors has been a central focus for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and NHAI.

Recently, NHAI signed a MoU with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) regarding this. They will together develop the Green Cover Index for the extensive networks of NHAI’s highways in the next 3 years. For this, they will undertake a comprehensive pan-India estimation of the green cover.

NHAI monitors the greenery and plantation along highways though field visits. But this system is not fully accurate and sometimes, misses data too. Hence, now, NRSC will undertake a comprehensive pan-India estimation of green cover along Highways using high-resolution satellite imagery.

It will also facilitate targeted interventions in regions that are reported to lack adequate green cover.
This innovative approach promises to be a robust and reliable mechanism, providing a time-saving and cost-effective solution to generate a macro-level estimate of the degree of greenness along National Highways.

HOW IT WILL BE DONE

NRSC has the mandate from government to establish ground stations for receiving satellite data, generation of data products, and development of techniques for remote sensing applications including geospatial services for good governance among other things. It has already conducted successful pilot projects for estimation of green cover along National Highways.

Mr. Jain said, “We do plantations on National Highways through different agencies. This initiative is for monitoring the accurate growth of plantation and greenery with the help of technology. We did a successful pilot project with NRSC on 3 National Highways in Punjab, Rajasthan and Odisha. We verified the satellite data provided by NRSC and it was accurate.”

REGION WISE

After capturing the Green Cover Index region-wise for National Highways in the first assessment cycle, the annual cycles will focus on estimating the growth patterns of green cover along National Highways using scientific techniques.

The project will provide a time-saving and cost-effective solution to generate a macro-level estimate of the degree of greenness along National Highways.

Mr. Jain explained: “Satellite measures chlorophyll in leaves and collects data from it. If there is more greenery then chlorophyll content will also be higher. And if chlorophyll is more, than the images of satellite data will have more pixels and if it is less, then the pixels will be less. It is called NDBI analysis. This will enable monitoring every year whether the growth and quality of the plantations is increasing or not.”

USE OF FINDINGS

Experts say that the findings of the index will be useful for making policies for greener highways. It will also give sufficient data to the Environment Ministry for analysing greenery and cope with pollution. It will not only facilitate comparison and ranking among Highways, but make the common people more aware about the environment.

This initiative underscores a sincere commitment to evaluate NHAI’s pivotal role in fostering the green transformation of highways, thereby contributing to the nation’s overall environmental well-being.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Pushkar Singh Dhami CM
Uttarakhand: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami Visits Disaster-Hit Dharali, Reviews Relief Efforts on Ground
Proteek Kumar Chakraborty
Former BHEL & CERC Official Proteek Kumar Chakraborty Takes Over as Director (Finance) at ECIL - Know More About Him
CM Vishnu Deo Sai - resized
Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Singh Directs Skill Development to Focus on Employment and Self-Reliance - Details Inside
RITES_green_logo
Result: RITES Q1FY26 PAT at Rs91 Cr, Declares Rs1.30 Interim Dividend, Maintains Strong Order Momentum - Deatils Inside
nhpc
NHPC & Chhattisgarh Government Partner for 2 Major Energy Storage Projects - Details inside
CM Nitish Kumar
Bihar’s Rural Road Scheme Accelerates Infrastructure and Economic Growth Across Villages - All Details Inside
Chhattisgarh News
PM Modi Transfers Rs 20,500 Crore Under PM-Kisan; CM Vishnu Deo Sai Highlights Pro-Farmer Initiatives in Chhattisgarh
nbcc
NBCC Celebrates Patriotic Spirit Ahead of 79th Independence Day with Creative Competitions
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Aditya Singh
How IAS Officer Aditya Singh is Redefining Governance in Madhya Pradesh | Video Interview 
IAS Karn Satyarthi
How IAS Karn Satyarthi Transformed Gumla Through Empathy and Innovation
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
IRAS Ananth Rupanagudi’s Take on Corruption, Reform, and Duty
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
BPSC Bihar police
From Lantern Light to Police Uniform: How Praveen Kumar from a Small Bihar Village Cracked BPSC to Become SDPO
From a lantern-lit village in Bihar to becoming an SDPO, Praveen Kumar's journey is a testament to resilience,...
IAS Priyansha Garg
Why Mindset Matters: IAS Priyansha Garg’s Mental Health Mantra for UPSC
After two failed prelims, Priyansha Garg cracked UPSC with AIR 31 in her fourth attempt, proving how...
Ashish Akshat
From Setback to State Topper: How Ashish Akshat Topped JPSC While Working Full-Time
Ashish Akshat from Dhanbad topped JPSC 2023, proving that resilience, discipline, and family support...
Social Media
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve: From India’s First Sanctuary to a Tiger Conservation Success Story | International Tiger Day Special
IAS Supriya Sahu Hails Mudumalai's Role in Tiger Conservation on Tiger Day. Declared in 1940, Now Among...
Mangroves
Mangroves: Nature’s Shield Against Disasters, Says Officer Parveen Kaswan on Mangroves Day - Watch His Post Here
Mangroves, with their dense, interlaced root systems, form a mesh-like structure that serves as a buffer...
Retired IPS Inderjit Singh Sidhu
Purpose Doesn’t Retire: How 88-Year-Old Retired DIG Becomes Chandigarh’s ‘Quiet Warrior’ of Cleanliness
Inderjit Singh Sidhu’s Dawn Patrol Earns Applause, Mahindra’s Praise for a Man Who Chose Action Over...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Pushkar Singh Dhami CM
Uttarakhand: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami Visits Disaster-Hit Dharali, Reviews Relief Efforts on Ground
Proteek Kumar Chakraborty
Former BHEL & CERC Official Proteek Kumar Chakraborty Takes Over as Director (Finance) at ECIL - Know More About Him
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Aditya Singh
IAS Karn Satyarthi
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT