NHAI to use Miyawaki Plantation to increase Green Cover along N.H

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has announced that it will use the Miyawaki plantations method for afforestation on lands adjacent to the National Highways in the Delhi NCR(National Capital Region) areas to increase the green cover. The afforestation initiative will be launched during the coming Monsoon season in 2024 and is expected to be completed by August 2024.

Site for the Miyawaki Plantation 

According to the NHAI, 53 acres of land have been identified for afforestation along the National Highway in and around the Delhi NCR areas.

The identified areas include: 

• 5.6 acres along the Meerut-Najibabad section of NH-34 in Uttar Pradesh.    
• 4.7 acres along the Haryana section of Dwarka Expressway, 
• 4.1 acres near Sohna on the Delhi – Vadodara section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, 
• around 5 acres each at Chabri and Kharkhara interchanges on NH 152D of the Ambala – Kotputli corridor in Haryana, 
• around 12 acres at Shamli bypass on NH-709B, 
• 9.2 acres near the Duhai interchange on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway near Ghaziabad and 
• 6 acres near the Meerut-Najibabad section of NH-34 in Uttar Pradesh.    

What is Miyawaki Plantation?

The Miyawaki method of tree plantation is named after the Japanese botanist and plant ecologist Akira Miyawaki.

The Miyawaki method is based on the natural reforestation principle -using trees that are native to the area and replicating the natural forest regeneration principle.

The seedlings of the native plants are planted at very high densities. The saplings grow very fast and compete for light for photosynthesis purposes. Thus, initially, a dense forest grows in an area in 20 to 30 years, which would ordinarily take hundreds of years. 

The Miyawaki method is very suitable for growing forest cover quickly on degraded land which has been used for construction or other purposes.

The forest created through the Miyawaki method has recorded higher biodiversity than a conventionally grown forest.

Benefits of the Afforestation 

The development of a Miyawaki forest will help create a resilient ecosystem. It will also be an excellent source of carbon sink, as the plants will absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

It will improve the water table in the region, soil conservation and create a suitable habitat for the flourishing of flora and fauna. 

About NHAI 

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is a statutory body set up under the NHAI Act, 1988. It became operational in February 1995.

The NHAI was set up for the development and maintenance of the National Highways which comes under the Union Government.

The NHAI is implementing the National Highway Development Project (NHDP) in a phased manner.

The total length of the National Highway in the country is around 1,32,499 km, which constitutes about 2 percent of the road network but carries 40 percent of the total road traffic.

The NHAI comes under the Union Ministry of Road Transport And Highways.

Union Minister: Nitin Gadkari.

Chairman of NHAI: Santosh Kumar Yadav (IAS)