Poor financial planning, weak coordination and a lack of convergence with existing government schemes have significantly affected the implementation of the Green India Mission (GIM), according to a new report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
The report, tabled in Parliament on August 12, found that the mission failed to meet most of its targets between 2015-16 and 2024-25. The Green India Mission is part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change and aims to increase India’s forest and tree cover while improving the quality of ecosystems.
The audit covered GIM activities in 16 states and Union territories. Against a target of improving forest cover quality across 1.4 million hectares, improvement was recorded in only 0.11384 million hectares, representing a shortfall of 91.87%.
The mission also aimed to increase forest cover across 1.4 million hectares, but an increase was recorded in only 0.03409 million hectares — a shortfall of 97.57%.
The CAG said the mission’s central strategy of bringing different government schemes together was not effectively implemented. It found limited coordination with programmes such as CAMPA, MGNREGS, Nagar Van Yojana and the School Nursery Yojana.
The audit also highlighted delays in planning. Of 68 sampled Annual Plans of Operation submitted by states and Union territories, only six reached the ministry before the start of the financial year, while none was approved on time.
The report further found that climate vulnerability was not always properly considered when selecting areas for intervention. In several cases, landscapes with low or moderate vulnerability were selected instead of areas facing greater climate risks.
Carbon sequestration assessments were also largely absent. According to the CAG, only Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh conducted such assessments during the 2015-2025 period.
Financial support for the mission also fell considerably short of expectations. The CAG said poor convergence contributed to the failure to secure ₹10,600 crore in proposed funding support. Against an approved outlay of ₹2,000 crore for the initial four years, along with ₹400 crore from the 13th Finance Commission grants, only ₹1,149.14 crore was received through budgetary support over 10 years.
The findings highlight significant gaps in planning, funding and coordination that have limited the Green India Mission’s ability to achieve its forest and climate-related objectives.
