Jhansi Railway, UP Forest Department sign Miyawaki afforestation MoU

The Jhansi Railway Division and Uttar Pradesh Forest Department signed an MoU on January 28, 2026 to create a high-density Miyawaki forest on 3.39 hectares of railway land. The cross-agency model demonstrates how Indian public-sector infrastructure entities can advance carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and environmental compliance simultaneously.

The Jhansi Railway Division and Uttar Pradesh Forest Department formalised a collaboration on January 28, 2026 through a Memorandum of Understanding to implement a high-density Miyawaki afforestation project on railway land in Jhansi. The MoU identifies 3.39 hectares of underutilised railway land, with 2.7 hectares dedicated to dense forest under the Miyawaki method, a Japanese technique planting native species at high densities. This enables forests to establish roughly 10 times faster than conventional approaches, boosting carbon sequestration, air quality, and biodiversity.

The project affects Indian Railways, the state forestry sector, and the surrounding ecosystem. The agreement was executed by Senior Divisional Engineer Gaurav and Divisional Forest Officer Neeraj Arya, witnessed by Divisional Railway Manager Anirudh Kumar and Chief Conservator of Forests H.V. Girish. Indigenous species will be planted in close proximity to accelerate ecological maturity. The forest department assumes site maintenance for four years post-planting, ensuring initial survival and structural integrity before the forest reaches self-sustaining maturity with reduced upkeep.

The initiative aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 13 (Climate Action), 15 (Life on Land), and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), contributing to climate mitigation, land restoration, and green cover along infrastructure corridors. For Indian Railways, it reinforces environmental compliance and sustainability credentials; for the forestry sector, it exemplifies scalable ecosystem restoration. Other transport and government entities should monitor this as a replicable template for cross-agency afforestation that pairs critical green-infrastructure investment with corporate environmental responsibility in public-sector frameworks.

Key figure — Railway land for plantation: 3.39 hectares, with 2.7 hectares dense Miyawaki forest