CAG audit flags major gaps in Green India Mission implementation

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has identified major shortcomings in the implementation of the Green India Mission (GIM), including inadequate funding, poor coordination between government schemes, and weak monitoring. The mission, launched in 2014 by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, aimed to improve forest cover in India.

The CAG's audit of GIM interventions in 16 States and Union Territories between 2015-16 and 2024-25 revealed that only 0.11384 million hectares of the target 1.4 million hectares for improving forest cover quality was achieved, resulting in a 91.87% shortfall. Similarly, only 0.03409 million hectares of the target 1.4 million hectares for increasing forest cover was realized, leading to a 97.57% shortfall.

The audit attributed these shortcomings to inadequate convergence with other programmes, insufficient funding, planning deficiencies, and weak monitoring mechanisms. The GIM, one of eight missions under India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, seeks to enhance ecosystem services and increase forest and tree cover to support India's climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.

The mission's failure to effectively converge with programmes like CAMPA and MGNREGS, as well as the lack of convergence with other schemes like Nagar Van Yojana and School Nursery Yojana, also contributed to the shortcomings. The audit found that the mission failed to secure ₹10,600 crore in proposed funding support, receiving only ₹1,149.14 crore out of the approved ₹2,000 crore and ₹400 crore from the 13th Finance Commission grants during the 10-year period examined.

The Congress party criticized the government, with former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh calling the GIM a "gigantic fraud."