Navi Mumbai, Oct. 18 -- The Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) recently launched an initiative to plant 125,000 trees along the Sion-Panvel Highway, transforming one of the busiest arterial roads into a green corridor. The highway, widened and concretised 12 years ago to connect Mumbai with Panvel and the Pune Expressway, had witnessed the felling of hundreds of trees. "When people enter Navi Mumbai through the Sion-Panvel Highway, the first impression should not be of dust and concrete, but of greenery," said Mangesh Chitale, municipal commissioner of PMC. The plantation drive aims to restore that lost green cover and create a sustainable buffer against rising pollution. Officials from the civic body said that 7,132 square metres of land along the highway will be utilised for plantations, with landscaped zones ranging from 600 to 2,700 square metres. For the project, a detailed layout has been designed by landscape architect Krutika Jain, incorporating diverse plant varieties for both aesthetics and resilience. The plantation is set to begin with stretches near Kalamboli and Kamothe up to Belpada, where residential density is high. Native species such as neem, banyan, gulmohar, and rain trees will be prioritised for their canopy cover and resilience. Calling the initiative a long-term environmental investment, Chitale said, "Panvel has grown at a pace where infrastructure has outstripped ecology. By planting 1.25 lakh trees along the highway to turn it into a green belt, we are committing to a greener, healthier city for the next generation." A drip irrigation system will be installed with dedicated maintenance teams. Resident groups, schools, Environmentalists and NGOs will be roped in for making the plantation a community-owned project....