Blending Connectivity with Ecology

 

Green Highways, Golden Harvests

Blending Connectivity with Ecology

 “With NHAI's Bee Corridor initiative, tourism and scenic beauty will improve. It will also boost pollination, support local ecology, enhance biodiversity and strengthen the environmental sustainability of highways.”

Peerzada Mohsin Shafi

Infrastructure is often measured in kilometres of roads, bridges and tunnels, yet its true value lies in how it transforms lives, strengthens economies and safeguards the environment. In a region like Jammu and Kashmir, where geography is dramatic and ecology is delicate, infrastructure development must go beyond connectivity and embrace sustainability. The recent initiative of the National Highways Authority of India to develop the country’s first ‘Bee Corridors’ along National Highways represents a visionary step in this direction, blending mobility with ecological responsibility and offering special relevance to Jammu and Kashmir.

Reiterating its commitment to sustainable infrastructure development, the National Highways Authority of India has announced a first of its kind initiative to develop pollinator or bee corridors along National Highways. Marking a shift from ornamental to ecological plantations, the Bee Corridor will have a continuous linear stretch of bee friendly vegetation comprising flowering trees and plants that will ensure the availability of nectar and pollen throughout the year. Plantations along National Highways present a unique opportunity to support pollinator conservation. The initiative will help reduce the increasing ecological stress faced by honeybees and other pollinators, which is adversely impacting pollination services, agricultural and horticultural productivity and overall ecological balance.

The National Highways Authority of India will align its plantation activities towards the creation of dedicated pollinator or Bee Corridors. The unique initiative will include a mix of trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses that will retain wild elements by planting nectar and pollen rich species, allowing flowering weeds to bloom, along with dead wood and hollow trunks that are beneficial to pollinators. Selection of plant species will ensure staggered flowering across different seasons to maintain a near continuous blooming cycle throughout the year. Native species of trees and plants, including Neem, Karanj, Mahua, Palash, Bottle Brush, Jamun and Siris, will be planted along National Highways. Depending upon agro climatic conditions and local suitability, such corridors will be developed along National Highway stretches and other vacant NHAI land parcels. Field offices across the country will identify National Highway sections where clusters of flowering trees can be planted at intervals of approximately 500 meters to 1 km, corresponding to the average foraging distance of honeybees and wild bees. Field offices will also plan and develop at least three pollinator corridors during 2026–27. The authority plans to plant around 40 lakh trees along National Highways during the year 2026–27, around 60 percent of which will be planted under the Bee Corridor initiative.

For Jammu and Kashmir, this initiative carries exceptional significance. The Union Territory’s economy is deeply rooted in agriculture and horticulture, particularly apple orchards, saffron fields, almond groves and diverse vegetable cultivation. Pollinators play a vital role in ensuring high yields and quality produce. However, climate change, habitat loss and unplanned urban expansion have increasingly threatened bee populations in the Himalayan region. Integrating Bee Corridors along major highways passing through Jammu, the Kashmir Valley and emerging economic zones can create ecological lifelines that connect fragmented habitats and support both managed and wild pollinators.

Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed rapid infrastructure expansion in recent years, including new highways, tunnels and rural road connectivity projects. While these developments enhance trade, tourism and strategic mobility, they also traverse forests, farmlands and fragile mountain ecosystems. By embedding pollinator friendly plantations into highway design, infrastructure becomes regenerative rather than extractive. Bee Corridors can stabilize soil on slopes, reduce erosion in hilly terrains and enhance green cover along roads that cut across sensitive landscapes. In areas prone to landslides, vegetative cover with deep rooted native species can contribute to slope stability while simultaneously supporting biodiversity.

The initiative also opens avenues for rural employment and community participation. Local nurseries in Jammu and Kashmir can be engaged to raise native flowering plants suited to temperate and sub temperate climates. Beekeepers can benefit from improved forage availability along transport corridors, potentially increasing honey production and diversifying incomes. With branding and marketing support, honey produced in regions supported by ecological corridors can gain added value as a product linked to sustainable infrastructure.

Tourism, another pillar of the Jammu and Kashmir economy, can also gain from greener highways. Scenic roads lined with seasonal flowering trees can enhance the visual appeal of routes leading to destinations such as Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Katra. Eco conscious travelers increasingly value sustainability initiatives, and visible Bee Corridors can serve as living symbols of environmentally responsible development. Interpretive signboards and awareness campaigns along highways can educate citizens and visitors about the importance of pollinators and biodiversity conservation.

The Bee Corridor initiative represents a broader shift in infrastructure philosophy. Roads are no longer seen merely as channels for vehicles but as potential ecological assets. By planning plantations at scientifically determined intervals aligned with the foraging distance of bees, the National Highways Authority of India is integrating ecological science into engineering practice. The target of planting around 40 lakh trees during 2026–27, with nearly 60 percent under the Bee Corridor initiative, signals scale and seriousness. Such large scale ecological integration, if adapted thoughtfully to local conditions in Jammu and Kashmir, can create continuous green networks across plains and mountains.

In the long term, the success of Bee Corridors will depend on careful species selection, regular maintenance and coordination with state forest departments, agricultural universities and local communities. In Jammu and Kashmir, special attention must be given to indigenous Himalayan species that flower across seasons and withstand cold winters and variable rainfall. Monitoring pollinator populations and agricultural output in areas adjoining Bee Corridors can provide valuable data to refine the model further.

Infrastructure in the twenty first century must serve both people and the planet. The Bee Corridor initiative demonstrates that highways can carry more than traffic, they can carry life. For Jammu and Kashmir, where natural beauty and agricultural prosperity are intertwined, such an approach offers a pathway towards resilient growth. By weaving ecological corridors into the fabric of transport networks, India moves closer to a model of development that is inclusive, climate responsive and rooted in harmony with nature.

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