UPSC Mains
GS Paper III
Environment & Climate
CAG Audit Flags Major Shortfalls in the Green India Mission
CAG finds a 97.57% shortfall in forest-cover targets and 91.87% shortfall in cover-quality targets under GIM, exposing a wide gap between India’s climate ambition and ground-level execution.
FOREST COVER SHORTFALL
97.57% against target
QUALITY COVER SHORTFALL
91.87% against target
BUDGET ACTUALLY RECEIVED
Only 47.88% of approved funds
🌳
About the Green India Mission
- Launched: 2014 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
- Status: One of the eight National Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), 2008.
- Objectives: Protecting, restoring, and enhancing forest cover; improving ecosystem services such as biodiversity, water, and carbon sequestration; and boosting forest-based livelihoods.
- Targets: Increase forest and tree cover over 5 million hectares and improve the quality of cover over another 5 million hectares.
Enhancing forest and tree cover is central to India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement — India has committed to an additional carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030, with GIM identified as a key programme in this strategy.
📉
Key Findings of the CAG Audit
The audit examined GIM interventions across 16 States and UTs between 2015-16 and 2024-25.
- Quality of forest cover: improvement achieved over only 0.11 million hectares against a target of 1.4 million hectares — a 91.87% shortfall.
- Forest cover increase: recorded over only 0.034 million hectares against 1.4 million hectares — a 97.57% shortfall.
The mission failed to secure ₹10,600 crore in proposed support — only 47.88% of approved budgetary funds were actually received.
Reasons Identified
Poor Convergence
Ineffective coordination with schemes like CAMPA, MGNREGS, Nagar Van Yojana, and School Nursery Yojana, many operating in silos.
Insufficient Funding
Failed to secure ₹10,600 crore in proposed support; only 47.88% of approved budgetary funds were received.
Weak Financial Controls
Eight States/UTs did not maintain annual accounts; others were unaudited or had discrepancies.
Planning & Monitoring
Deficiencies in planning and monitoring undermined tracking of physical and financial progress.
🧭
Way Forward
Strengthen Convergence
Institutionalise coordination with CAMPA, MGNREGS, and urban greening schemes for pooled resources and outcomes.
Ensure Adequate & Timely Funding
Bridge the funding gap and align releases with physical targets.
Robust Monitoring
Deploy geospatial/remote-sensing tools and third-party audits for real-time tracking.
Financial Accountability
Mandate timely maintenance and audit of State-level accounts.
Focus on Quality, Not Just Quantity
Prioritise native species and ecosystem restoration over mere plantation numbers.
Strengthening these areas is essential for GIM to meaningfully contribute to India’s climate resilience and net-zero-by-2070 goal.
📰
Source: The Hindu
