Now, NHAI to track each tree with digital address

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), after tracking projects with unique identity numbers, will now bestow digital identity upon tree plantations along national highways.

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A GPS-based mobile app that will monitor location, growth, species details, maintenance activities, targets and achievements of each of its field units for each and every plant under all plantation projects of National Highways was launched by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, said a statement on Friday.

To track the growth and health of the plants, photographs along with data of the plants captured using the app – termed Harit Path — shall be uploaded every three months on NHAI’s Artificial Intelligence powered Big Data Analytics platform – Data Lake. Around 7,800 plants have also been geo-tagged using the app, stated the release.

Highway contractors shall be accountable for proper upkeep of the plantations and are liable to replace the missing or dead plants. Performance and growth of the plants shall be linked to the payment to the contractors for this work.

The nationwide plantation drive has been actively taken up by NHAI’s regional offices to achieve the collective target of making greener national highways.

NHAI planted over 25 lakh plants in 25 days along the stretches of the National Highways between July 21 and August 15. The drive takes the total cumulative number of plantations done during the current year to 35.22 lakh. Maximum number of over 5 lakh plants have been planted in Uttar Pradesh, followed by over 3 lakh in Rajasthan and 2.67 lakh in Madhya Pradesh along the national highways.

NHAI’s vision is to plant 72 lakh plants along NH stretches collectively with concessionaire, State Government agencies and private plantation agencies. Apart from plantation, NHAI is also focussing on transplantation of trees that are required to be felled for development of highway projects.