Drones, AI to track plantation survival Afforestation mandatory, satellite audits to track green cover
Srinagar, Dec 18: Jammu and Kashmir is set to recalibrate highway construction, prioritising environmental safeguards and sustainable practices over speed and scale, as the Union Territory shifts toward greener, regulation-driven infrastructure.
According to data accessed by Rising Kashmir, the UT plans to use 1.9 lakh metric tonnes of construction and demolition waste, 76,000 metric tonnes of recycled material, and 2,500 metric tonnes of fly ash in National Highway projects during 2025-26, in line with the Centre’s expanding Green Highways programme.
The move places J&K among regions where highway construction is explicitly linked to waste reutilisation and ecological safeguards, a shift driven by the territory’s fragile Himalayan terrain and rapidly expanding road network.
The wider deployment of recycled and waste-derived materials is being facilitated through new and revised specifications framed by the Indian Roads Congress, drawing on international best practices and lessons from pilot projects. Officials say these standards ensure structural integrity, pavement durability, and load-bearing strength, even as recycled aggregates, plastic waste, and fly ash are incorporated at scale.
Alongside material reuse, roadside afforestation has been institutionalised under the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification & Maintenance) Policy, 2015, which makes greening a mandatory component of Detailed Project Reports and concession agreements for all National Highway projects. Plantations are carried out along available roadside land and medians, using species suited to local agro-climatic zones, including those in J&K, in line with IRC norms.
Since the policy’s implementation, 524.68 lakh saplings have been planted along National Highways nationwide, with 5.65 lakh plants in J&K between 2015-16 and 2025-26, covering avenues, medians, and land-parcel plantations.
To accelerate implementation, the Ministry launched “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0” on World Environment Day. During the ongoing 2025-26 plantation season, 58.82 lakh saplings have been planted across states and Union Territories, including J&K.
Monitoring has advanced beyond simple plantation counts. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has empanelled Technology Service Providers to assess survival rates using drone imagery analysed with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning under the Drone Analytics Monitoring System.
In addition, the National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad, has conducted a pan-India assessment of green cover along National Highways, known as the Green Cover Index, using high-resolution satellite imagery. These assessments are supplemented by regular field inspections by independent engineers and NHAI officers.
The policy framework has also expanded to allow the use of steel slag, processed urban solid waste, and plastic waste in National Highway construction, following guidelines issued in September 2024. Officials said the quality and quantity of steel slag are being finalised in consultation with steel plants, with coordination between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Ministry of Steel to ensure uninterrupted supply.
Shafat Malik
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