The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has tightened compliance requirements for plantation and landscaping along National Highway projects, making adequate plantation a key condition for the issuance of the Provisional Certificate of Completion (PCC) or Provisional Commercial Operation Date (PCOD).
Under the revised guidelines, plantation must cover at least 80% of the available Right of Way (ROW) earmarked for plantation, while the saplings planted must have a minimum 90% survival rate at the time of inspection for a project to meet the plantation-related requirements for provisional completion certification.
NHAI said the guidelines have been issued to ensure strict compliance with contractual obligations relating to plantation along highway medians and avenues. Plantation and landscaping will now be treated as integral components of National Highway development and overall project completion.
The plantation work must be carried out in accordance with the respective contract or concession agreement and relevant provisions of the Green Highways Policy, 2015, IRC:SP:21-2009, as well as other guidelines issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and NHAI.
The revised norms also provide for accountability in cases where plantation targets are not fully achieved. Any shortfall beyond the prescribed 80% coverage will have to be clearly highlighted along with a specific timeline for completing the remaining plantation.
NHAI will also enforce appropriate financial withholdings, wherever provided for under the relevant contract or concession agreement, until the outstanding plantation work is completed and the prescribed target is achieved.
The authority has further strengthened requirements for plantation maintenance during the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) period of National Highway projects.
For projects being implemented under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) and BOT Annuity models, the release of O&M or annuity payments will be linked to maintaining a minimum 90% survival rate throughout the O&M period. In BOT-Toll projects, compliance with the same survival requirement will be considered while assessing maintenance performance.
The guidelines also make timely replacement of dead or damaged plants mandatory. In the event of plant mortality, replacements will have to be of similar age and growth to maintain uniformity, density and continuity of plantation along the highway corridor.
Before processing O&M or annuity payments, or certifying maintenance compliance, NHAI will seek technical assistance from its environment and plantation experts to verify field-level compliance and assess whether the prescribed survival standards are being maintained.
NHAI said it had earlier observed that plantation along highway medians and avenues, despite being a contractual obligation, was not always given adequate importance at the time of issuing PCC or PCOD for highway projects.
The revised guidelines are aimed at addressing this gap and ensuring that plantation and environmental sustainability become an integral part of both the implementation and long-term maintenance of National Highway projects.
