Green Cover Index for National Highways

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed a 3-year agreement with the Indian Space Research Organization’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) to create a unified ‘Green Cover Index’ gauging afforestation level along India’s vast highway network using satellite imagery analytics.

Background

Since 2015, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has prioritized greening highway corridors under a National Green Highways Policy. But monitoring currently relies on manual site inspections.

NRSC Tie-up for Tech-Enabled Monitoring

Under the collaboration, NRSC will leverage its specialized geo-spatial technology capabilities to comprehensively estimate region-wise green cover percentages along national highways.

This offers a reliable, scalable and cost-effective solution to assess greening initiatives as compared to traditional field surveys. It also enables data-driven planning.

How It Works

NRSC will analyze high-resolution satellite images using scientific techniques to quantify green cover at 1 km intervals across different highway stretches and packages.

This facilitates tailored interventions in areas showing any lapses. Yearly assessments will also capture growth trends over time.

Expected Outcomes

• Granular green cover metrics for each national highway
• Annual growth rate analysis
• Ranking highway segments through green cover percentage
• Focus Areas for targeted plantation drives
• Provide proof-of-concept for larger remote sensing adoption

Advancing Sustainability Commitments

Such an innovative use of space technology by NHAI aligns with the national imperative of data-backed governance for improved efficiency and transparency across sectors.

The project is a welcome effort to create environmental accountability while optimizing public expenditures on highway greening.

It promises to provide macro-level visibility into India’s green highway mission progress using niche ISRO capabilities – setting precedents for next-generation regulatory approaches.

Category: India Nation & States Current Affairs