Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced the winners of the Green Highways Excellence Awards 2026, recognising outstanding plantation and landscaping practices along National Highway projects across the country.
The awards aim to encourage and promote healthy plantation practices and environmental sustainability along National Highways. The winners were selected across three categories — Avenue Plantations, Median Plantations, and Plantation in Land Parcels.
NHAI Green Highways Awards 2026: Winners
The winners were selected based on their performance in plantation management, sustainability, survival rates and the potential for replicating successful practices across the National Highway network.
Category I: Avenue Plantations
The winners in the Avenue Plantations category are:
- 1st Prize: Six Laning of Chilakaluripet Bypass on NH-16 in Andhra Pradesh, under RO-Vijayawada
- 2nd Prize: Eight-Lane Vadodara-Kim Expressway, Padra to Vadodara section of Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway in Gujarat, under RO-Gandhinagar
- 3rd Prize: Gagariya-Bakhasar section of NH-925 and Satta-Gandhav section of NH-925A, under RO-Jaipur
- Consolation Prize: Annual Maintenance including Incident Management of Trichy-Karaikudi section of NH-210, NH-336, NH-36 and NH-536, including Trichy Bypass, under RO-Madurai
Read also: NHAI: Odisha Coastal Highway Attracts 17 Bids for ₹8,300-Crore Rameshwar–Paradeep Corridor
Category II: Median Plantations
The Median Plantations category recognised the following projects:
- 1st Prize: Four-Laning of Hyderabad-Yadgiri section of NH-163, under RO-Hyderabad
- 2nd Prize: Eight-Lane Vadodara-Kim Expressway, Sanpa to Padra section of Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway in Gujarat, under RO-Gandhinagar
- 3rd Prize: Varanasi Ring Road, Package-I, Harahua to Sandaha section of NH-31, under RO-UP East (Varanasi)
Category III: Plantation in Land Parcels
The third category covered plantations in land parcels, including clover leaves, interchanges, toll plazas and service areas.
The winners are:
- 1st Prize: Jamtha Clover Leaf, Oxygen Bird Park on NH-44, under RO-Nagpur
- 2nd Prize: Monetization of Public Funded Operational National Highway Projects under Tolling, Operation, Maintenance and Transfer (ToT) Bundle-7, NE-II — land parcels at Duhai Interchange, under RO-Delhi
- 3rd Prize: Lucknow-Ayodhya Road and Lucknow Outer Ring Road Intersection Junction — Miyawaki Plantation in Loop Areas, under RO-UP West (Lucknow)
NHAI Receives 86 Nominations for Green Highways Awards
NHAI invited nominations through its online portal and received 86 entries from across the country.
The nominations were distributed across the three categories:
- 27 nominations for Avenue Plantations
- 36 nominations for Median Plantations
- 23 nominations for Plantation in Land Parcels
The entries were supported by various forms of evidence, including:
- Geo-tagged photographs
- Drone videos
- Site-specific plantation plans
- Plantation survival-rate data
Following the initial screening, 15 nominations — five from each category — were shortlisted for the final assessment.
Plantation Survival Rate Given Highest Weightage
The final evaluation was carried out using a comprehensive assessment framework, with the survival rate of plantations receiving the highest weightage.
Other parameters considered during the assessment included:
- Site-specific plantation action plans
- Timing of plantation activities
- Size of plantation pits
- Quality of planting material
- Protection measures
- Implementation according to approved designs
- Species diversity and suitability
- Use of native species
NHAI also placed special emphasis on the quality, sustainability and effectiveness of plantation practices, along with their potential for wider replication across the National Highway network.
Green Highways Excellence Awards Instituted in 2025
The Green Highways Excellence Awards were instituted by NHAI in 2025, in accordance with the Green Highways Policy, 2015.
The awards are aimed at promoting excellence in landscaping and plantation management while encouraging stakeholders involved in National Highway projects to adopt sustainable green practices.
The initiative reinforces NHAI’s commitment to integrating environmental sustainability with the development of India’s National Highway network.
Read also: NHAI Takes FASTag Local Passes Digital Across 121 Toll Plazas, Ends Physical Verification Hassle
