By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, APR 16, 2024: NEW DELHI, 15th April 2024:  Keeping its focus on building a robust and sustainable National Highway network, NHAI organized a day long national workshop in New Delhi to discuss different aspects of environmental impact assessment, planning and mitigation for holistic National Highway development. Chief Guest for the event was Anurag Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Santosh Kumar Yadav, Chairman NHAI along with Guest of Honour Jitendra Kumar, IFS, DGF&SS, MoEF&CC were also present on the occasion. The event saw participation from senior officials of MoRTH, NHAI, NHIDCL, MoEF&CC, QQI-NABET, DPR Consultants, Concessionaires, Authority Engineers, and Independent Engineers.

Various panel discussions with senior officials and industry experts were held during the workshop which provided key insights into different aspects of development of environmentally sustainable road infrastructure. The sessions included discussion on issues related to Wildlife Clearances; Insights on 'Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure on Wildlife'; Issues related to Forest & Environment Clearances; Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Environmental Management Plan (EMP); Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Clearances, Regulations and its applicability to Road Infrastructure Projects.  

In his inaugural address, Chief Guest Anurag Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said that "I am pleased that we have gathered here to deliberate various possibilities and address challenges to pave way for greener and sustainable National Highway development. I am sure after these knowledge sessions, we will have deeper understanding of the forest and environment clearances & systems. It is also important for different departments to have a collaborative approach using PM Gati Shakti framework to efficiently develop sustainable National Highway infrastructure across the country".

Addressing the audience at the national conference, the Guest of Honour Jitendra Kumar, DGF&SS, MoEF&CC said, "We have to take steps towards expediting planning and proposal process by improving inter-departmental collaboration and building a concrete roadmap for inclusion of sustainable practices in the development of infrastructure projects."

In his keynote address, Santosh Kumar Yadav, Chairman, NHAI said "We are committed to develop sustainable and environmentally friendly National Highway network.  Today, there is a greater need to collaborate and include sustainable practices from the conceptualization of the project at the DPR stage. Participation from various stakeholders in this workshop, will enrich the quality of discussion and define the way forward towards a greener and more sustainable National Highway infrastructure development."

Sharing his observations in the concluding session, Vishal Chauhan, Member (Administration), NHAI thanked all the panelists for their active participation. He also emphasized that ensuring environment sustainability is a collective responsibility of all the stakeholders and forward-looking discussions in today's workshop has helped to push forward the agenda of environment sustainably.      

With a strong focus on environment sustainability, promoting economic growth, and expanding the National Highway network, NHAI is paving way for a greener, more resilient, and inclusive future. The national workshop strengthened this vison by providing key insights and identifying areas for holistic development. The deliberations held at the day long workshop will go a long way in adopting various sustainable practices for the construction of National Highways and drive inclusive growth by enhancing the ecological footprint across the country.