Why in News?
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has flagged major shortcomings in the implementation of the Green India Mission (GIM), citing poor financial planning, weak coordination and lack of convergence with existing Central and State government schemes.
Key Findings of the CAG Report
1. Major Shortfall in Improving Forest Quality
Against a target of improving forest cover quality across 1.4 million hectares, improvement was observed in only 0.11384 million hectares. This represents a shortfall of approximately 91.87%.
2. Poor Performance in Increasing Forest Cover
The mission also fell significantly short of its target for increasing forest cover.
- Target: 1.4 million hectares
- Achievement: 0.03409 million hectares
- Shortfall: 97.57%
3. Lack of Convergence
The CAG identified the absence of convergence as a major reason for poor implementation. GIM was not adequately aligned with existing schemes such as:
- Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)
- Nagar Van Yojana
- School Nursery Yojana
- Other Central and State afforestation programmes.
4. Weak Financial Planning
The audit found significant gaps between the financial resources envisaged and those actually received.
- The mission could not secure around ₹10,600 crore in proposed funding support due to inadequate convergence.
- Against an approved outlay of ₹2,000 crore for the initial four years, along with ₹400 crore from 13th Finance Commission grants as the States' share, only ₹1,149.14 crore was received through budgetary support over the 10-year implementation period.
- This amounted to only 47.88% of the intended funding.
Significance of the Findings
The CAG findings highlight the importance of effective implementation of climate and environmental programmes. Better implementation of GIM can help India:
- Increase forest and tree cover.
- Enhance carbon sequestration.
- Improve biodiversity and ecosystem services.
- Strengthen climate resilience.
- Support India's climate-change mitigation commitments.
- Improve livelihoods of forest-dependent communities.
About the Green India Mission
The National Mission for Green India (GIM), also known as the Green India Mission, is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). It was launched in February 2014 to protect, restore and enhance India's forest and tree cover while addressing the impacts of climate change.
Key Objectives
- Enhance forest and tree cover and improve the quality of existing forests.
- Increase carbon sequestration and strengthen carbon sinks.
- Conserve biodiversity, mangroves, wetlands and critical habitats.
- Improve ecosystem services such as water, biomass, fuel, fodder and timber.
- Strengthen the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities.
- Promote climate adaptation and mitigation.
- Integrate traditional ecological knowledge, forestry science and modern technology.
