In a decisive push to make New Shillong a climate-resilient city, the Meghalaya government has launched an ambitious avenue plantation project aimed at transforming the upcoming township into one of the region’s greenest urban centres. Under the project, rolled out in 2025, the state plans to plant 6,000 trees across more than 25 km of roads and 2 km of medians, investing ₹2.5 crore over the next five years.
Officials say the initiative is designed to ensure that rapid urban development does not come at the cost of ecology. The plantation drive will stretch along key arterial routes in New Shillong Township, including the Ummir Junction–Mawkhanur corridor, where 10,000 plants have been targeted, with 6,340 already planted across a proposed road length of 16.56 km.
Unlike routine beautification drives, the project is being positioned as a green infrastructure intervention. According to an official document, the plantations are expected to reduce air pollution, mitigate the urban heat island effect, control soil erosion, improve road safety and aesthetics. ” These green avenues will make New Shillong a city that blends progress with ecological balance”, the document says.