✎ NHAI now mandates 80% tree plantation and 90% survival rate for NH projects before issuing completion certificates.
Relevance for Banking, SSC & RBI Grade B exams: Polity & Governance
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has announced that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has tightened compliance norms for afforestation before issuing Provisional Completion Certificates (PCC) for highway projects. Under the new guidelines, a minimum of 80% of the designated Right of Way (RoW) must be afforested, and at least 90% of planted saplings must survive inspections. These measures align with the Green Highways Policy, 2015, and other regulatory frameworks like IRCC:SP:21-2009. The stricter norms aim to integrate environmental sustainability into highway development, ensuring that afforestation—often overlooked in past projects—becomes a non-negotiable contractual obligation. Financial penalties will be imposed until full compliance is achieved, reinforcing accountability in project execution.
For banking and SSC aspirants, this development highlights the intersection of infrastructure governance and environmental policy, a recurring theme in exams like RBI Grade B and UPSC. The NHAI’s move underscores the government’s emphasis on sustainable development, a key area in polity and governance sections. For banking exams, understanding such policy shifts can be crucial for questions on public sector undertakings (PSUs) like NHAI and their operational frameworks. SSC aspirants may encounter questions linking environmental compliance to infrastructure projects, testing their grasp of governance mechanisms. The focus on financial penalties and contractual obligations also reflects broader themes of regulatory oversight and fiscal discipline, relevant for economic and governance-related questions.
Source: PIB (Press Information Bureau)
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