The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)’s performance audit of the Green India Mission (GIM), tabled in parliament last week, is a severe indictment of the flagship environmental programme. GIM, launched in 2014 with fanfare, aimed to protect, restore and expand forest cover, and improve vegetation and tree cover across the country. It proposed to mobilise targeted efforts to enhance biodiversity and carbon sequestration, and envisioned an expansion of forest-based livelihoods. The report says the mission, which had a target of improving the quality of forests over 1.4 million hectares, could do so only in 0.11 million hectares. A 98% shortfall was reported in efforts towards increasing the forest cover. The CAG examined results across 16 states and union territories between 2015-16 and 2024-25, and reported abject failure in all aspects.
Multiple factors have been cited – from an absence of convergence with relevant programmes to insufficient funding, from weak planning to erratic monitoring systems. The CAG noted that GIM lacked “effective alignment” with CAMPA, MGNREGS, and other programmes tied to afforestation, leaving initiatives such as the Nagar Van Yojana and the School Nursery Yojana to progress in isolation. The mission failed to secure the originally proposed funding support. Financial controls were lax; many states did not maintain annual accounts, while those prepared by the others were often unaudited or contained discrepancies. Annual targets for afforestation were largely non-existent and monitoring remained deficient at all levels. Vulnerability was identified as a key marker for the mission. However, the CAG highlighted poor prioritisation, noting that regions with low- and moderate-level risks were selected over those facing a greater threat from climate change.
GIM is an important component in India’s response to climate change and is integral to its national action plan. It was designed to play a crucial role in meeting the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on expanding its carbon sink. That a programme of this scope and consequence was handled with such indifference reveals a commitment that does not go far beyond the optics of afforestation drives. There is much talk about the need to plant trees, to improve the state of forests, to revive degraded lands, and to hasten climate action. Millions of saplings are being planted every year. However, official statistics about the extent of forests and tree cover have been consistently questioned. The CAG report encapsulates everything that is wrong with the country’s biggest afforestation programme. Its criticism should form the basis for efforts to repair and rejuvenate the mission. (Source: DH)
