In a pioneering move, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to take up a unique initiative to plant Miyawaki plantation on land parcels adjacent to National Highways at various locations, spanning over an area of 53 acres in and around Delhi-NCR, to saturate the National Highways with greenery. In this unique Japanese approach to ecological restoration and afforestation development — dense, native, and biodiverse forests are created in a short period of time to retain and recharge groundwater. The trees thus planted can grow ten times faster and act as a sound and dust barrier.
Some of the sites proposed for the development of Miyawaki plantations along the National Highways include 4.7 acres of land area along Haryana section of Dwarka Expressway, 4.1 acres near Sohna on Delhi – Vadodara section of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, around 5 acres each at Chabri and Kharkhara interchanges on NH 152D of Ambala – Kotputli corridor in Haryana, over 12 acres at Shamli bypass on NH-709B, 9.2 acres at Duhai interchange on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway near Ghaziabad and 5.6 acres near Meerut-Najibabad section of NH-34 in Uttar Pradesh.
Using this method, the NHAI not only aims to enhance the overall health and well-being of citizens living along the National Highways but also add to the aesthetics and pleasure of commuting on the National Highways in the NCR region.
