The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will undertake a unique initiative to plant Miyawaki plantation on land parcels adjacent to national highways at various locations.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, a total land area of over 53 acres has been identified at different places in and around Delhi-NCR to establish the Miyawaki plantations.

Some of the sites proposed for 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.

Further, 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 are identified.

Ground preparation has already started at the selected sites and plantations shall be taken up during the upcoming monsoon season scheduled to be completed by end of Aug 2024, the ministry said in a statement.

Development of Miyawaki Forests will contribute towards the creation of a resilient ecosystem, offering a range of benefits to both the environment and local community. It will also have multiple long-term benefits, which include improvement in micro-climatic conditions such as improvement in air & soil quality.

It will also help in biodiversity conservation, rapid growth of green cover, efficient carbon absorption, soil restoration and in habitat creation for local flora and fauna.

The Road Ministry has said that based on the success of Miyawaki plantation in Delhi/NCR, the similar pattern will be replicated across the country.

Miyawaki plantations, also known as Miyawaki method, is a unique Japanese approach to ecological restoration and afforestation development. This method aims to create dense, native, and biodiverse forests in a short period of time.

Using the Miyawaki method, an increase in green cover will not only help to enhance the overall health and well-being of citizens living along the National Highways, but will also add to the aesthetics and pleasure of commuting on the National Highways in NCR.