NHAI’s collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) satellite centre data will take three years to map the entire highway network, promoting environmental awareness and sustainable development.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) to develop and report a ‘Green Cover Index’ for the extensive network of the Indian National Highways.
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NHAI’s collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) satellite centre data will take three years to map the entire highway network, promoting environmental awareness and sustainable development.
“In the inaugural assessment, the endeavor seeks to regionally quantify the Green Cover Index. Subsequent cycles will employ scientific methodologies to assess green cover growth patterns annually,” Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari mentioned on X.
With a meticulous 1 km granularity, this initiative reflects a dedicated commitment to evaluating NHAI’s pivotal role in advancing the ecological transformation of highways, bolstering national environmental prosperity, Gadkari added.
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Since the inception of the Green Highways Policy in 2015, the prioritisation of greening highway corridors has been a focal point for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and NHAI. At present, the monitoring of plantations relies upon on-site visits by field personnel.
The tech-enabled Green Cover Index
The NRSC will undertake a comprehensive pan-India estimation of green cover, referred to as the ‘Green Cover Index’ for National Highways using high-resolution satellite imagery.
The index will witness the use of emerging technologies to enhance in-situ data collection, supplement plantation management, and monitoring, including performance audits conducted by NHAI.
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Besides, the innovative approach promises to be a robust and reliable mechanism, providing a time-saving and cost-effective solution to generate a macro-level estimate along national highways.
The findings of the index will facilitate the comparison and ranking of various national highways for timely and periodic intervention. As green cover would be estimated for every 1 km length of the national highways, it would be possible to generate granular metrics for individual projects/packages as well.
