CAG audit flags major gaps in Green India Mission implementation
The audit attributed the shortcomings to several factors, including inadequate convergence with other programmes, insufficient funding, deficiencies in planning and weak monitoring mechanisms
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has identified significant issues in the implementation of the Green India Mission (GIM), a Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change initiative launched in 2014. The mission aimed to protect, restore, and enhance the country’s forest cover and improve ecosystem services. However, the CAG audit revealed major shortfalls in funding, coordination between government schemes, and monitoring, leading to a 91.87% shortfall in improving forest cover quality and a 97.57% shortfall in increasing forest cover against the planned targets.
Out of 16 States and Union Territories examined, only 0.11384 million hectares of forest cover quality improved, and 0.03409 million hectares of forest cover expanded, representing substantial failures. Experts, including former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, criticized the mission, describing it as a "gigantic fraud". The CAG highlighted issues with convergence with other schemes, inadequate funding, poor financial controls, and ineffective monitoring mechanisms, which undermined the mission's objectives and India's climate commitments.
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