Guwahati: Only about 2% of the targeted increase in forest cover under the Green India Mission (GIM) was achieved over 10 years, according to a performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
The finding has exposed a wide gap between plantation and restoration targets and actual gains in forest cover in the country, including Assam and the Northeast.
The CAG report, tabled in Parliament around August 12, assessed the mission’s implementation from 2015-16 to 2024-25. Against a target of 1.4 million hectares (mha) for increasing forest cover, only 0.03409 mha was observed, leaving a shortfall of 97.57%.
The performance was similarly poor in improving the quality of forest cover. Against a target of 1.4 mha, improvement was observed in only about 0.11384 mha, a shortfall of 91.87%.
The figures point to a clear difference between land reported as having been taken up for plantation or eco-restoration and actual improvement in forest cover and its quality. Government figures include areas where plantation or restoration work was taken up, while the CAG examined observed outcomes attributable to the GIM.
The CAG examined GIM interventions in 16 states and Union Territories for which the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had approved physical and financial targets.
The GIM is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), launched in February 2014. Activities under the mission began in 2015-16.
The mission covers the protection, restoration and enhancement of forest and tree cover; improvement of degraded forest and non-forest land; enhancement of ecosystem services such as biodiversity, hydrological services and carbon sequestration; and improvement of forest-based livelihood incomes for about three million households living in forests.
The original targets included increasing forest and tree cover on 5 mha and improving the quality of forest cover on another 5 mha over about 10 years. The programme also had targets relating to wetlands and grasslands and an earlier goal of enhancing CO? sequestration by 50-60 million tonnes by 2020.
A revised roadmap released around June 2025 shifted the focus to landscape-specific restoration in the Aravallis, Western Ghats, Himalayas and mangroves. It also aligned the mission with India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target of an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO? equivalent by 2030.
Implementation is mainly through State Forest Departments under Annual Plans of Operation, often involving Joint Forest Management Committees. The programme also envisages convergence with schemes such as CAMPA and MGNREGS.
NE: Assam’s GIM presence limited
In the Northeast, significant GIM support was reported in Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
Manipur had targets totalling 19,976 hectares across different years and achieved 16,488 hectares.
Mizoram had a target of 20,643 hectares and achieved 19,643 hectares. Arunachal Pradesh had a target of 10,777 hectares and achieved 5,314 hectares. Sikkim had a target of 6,981 hectares and achieved 6,567 hectares.
Assam had minimal or negligible GIM plantation or eco-restoration areas and funds in the detailed tables. Some annexures showed very small or zero utilisation. Exact Assam-specific physical targets against actual GIM achievements remained sparsely detailed in the available official summaries.
Greening work in Assam and the rest of the Northeast has also been carried out through state programmes, CAMPA and other schemes. The revised GIM roadmap places emphasis on Himalayan landscapes, locally appropriate approaches to shifting (jhum) cultivation and bamboo restoration.
The CAG findings raised questions, particularly where areas are reported as planted or restored but long-term survival and ecological improvement have not been independently established.
Environmental activist Apurba Ballav Goswami said, “Only 2 per cent of the target achieved in ten years—98 per cent of the target unfulfilled.”
“The fact that only 2 per cent of the ten-year target has been met has created deep concern regarding the country’s environmental conservation efforts,” Goswami said.
“In other words, 98 per cent of the set target remains unfulfilled. This failure is not 2 per cent or 20 per cent—98 per cent has not been met,” he said.
“This statistic also raises serious questions about the implementation of the Green India Mission, the government’s priority towards forest conservation, and the actual outcomes of environmental policy. At a time when forest destruction, illegal mining, encroachment on forest land, urbanisation and pressure from development projects are increasing, the failure to meet 98 per cent of the target is even more worrying,” Goswami also said.
CAG flags planning, monitoring failures
The CAG cited several reasons for the poor outcomes, including the wrong selection of landscapes for planting, the absence of convergence with other schemes, financial mismanagement and underfunding, improper planning, lack of coordination and deficient monitoring.
Fourteen states failed to provide the required public web links. The audit also found inflated or overstated data, including non-validated KML files. GIS analysis showed no noticeable changes attributable to GIM at 70% of the sampled sites.
Only Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh conducted carbon-sequestration assessments. Between 2015 and 2025, Assam, Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur and Jharkhand also did not submit this data.
Eight states and Union Territories had not maintained annual accounts. In some places, accounts had been prepared but remained unaudited.
Against a national target of Rs 170 crore for the scheme, only 8.82% could be spent. CAMPA funds reached many states, but their actual monitoring was not carried out on the e-Green Watch portal.
Budgetary support received was only about 47.88% of certain approved outlays over the period.
The CAG has given five major recommendations for improving implementation.
Government replies have reported much larger areas taken up for plantation and eco-restoration. Various statements have cited cumulative figures of around 1.55 lakh to 1.84 lakh hectares or more across 17 states and one Union Territory, with funds released totalling roughly Rs 900 crore to Rs 1,000 crore or more.
Those figures refer to areas targeted or reported as planted or restored. They are not the same as the CAG’s observed increase in forest cover or improvement in forest-cover quality.
The India State of Forest Reports have recorded an increase in overall forest and tree cover in the country. The CAG, however, found limited evidence to attribute the observed changes specifically to the GIM.
Assam’s CAMPA record
The audit findings also draw attention to compensatory afforestation in Assam. The state’s CAMPA operates under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016, and CAF Rules, 2018.
CAMPA manages compensatory levies, including Net Present Value (NPV), collected when forest land is diverted for non-forestry purposes such as infrastructure, industry and development projects.
The funds are used for compensatory afforestation (CA), penal CA, catchment area treatment, wildlife habitat improvement, forest protection, soil and moisture conservation, assisted natural regeneration and related activities.
The Assam State CAMPA Authority prepares Annual Plans of Operation, which require approval from the State Steering Committee, Executive Committee and National CAMPA. Funds are then released by the state government to the Forest Department for implementation.
Monitoring is carried out through internal mechanisms, third-party evaluation and platforms such as e-Green Watch. The works include site-specific schemes for diverted forest land and broader NPV-funded activities for improving forest quality and ecosystem services.
Assam has recorded relatively high achievement against its physical CA targets during some recent periods. Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, the state achieved 93.8% of its CA target, planting 1,149.64 hectares against a target of 1,191.82 hectares, according to a Supreme Court-mandated Central Empowered Committee report. The national achievement was about 85%.
Cumulative data from 1980 to around early 2026 show forest land diverted in Assam at approximately 6,245 hectares. Mandated CA was about 10,015 hectares, against which around 8,588 hectares had been achieved, or roughly 85-86%. The backlog was about 1,427 hectares.
More recent year-wise figures from 2021-22 to 2024-25 show mixed results. Targets totalled around 2,384 hectares, while achievement was about 1,647 hectares in some reported periods. Shortfalls were recorded in certain years, including one year in which nil achievement was reported against a target.
In a July 2026 Assam Assembly reply, the state reported CA over 2,561.39 hectares and NPV plantations over 13,225.15 hectares between 2016-17 and 2025-26. The reported survival rates ranged from 63% to 88%.
Assam has received substantial CAMPA transfers over the years. Cumulative funds transferred to the state stood at roughly Rs 1,041-1,042 crore in recent national tallies, apart from additional interest accruals.
The survival of plantations, however, remains a concern. Official survival rates are often cited at 63-88%. Some RTI replies put the rate at 65-75%, while one parliamentary figure for 2023-24 cited 83-84%.
A 2023-24 CAMPA Hollong plantation covering five hectares in the Doomdooma/Nalani area of Tinsukia district involved Rs 20 lakh. Locals reported that 95% of the saplings had died or disappeared, citing poor-quality planting stock and a lack of post-plantation care and maintenance. Similar complaints of neglect have appeared in other reports.
Over Rs 266 crore, as part of broader afforestation spending exceeding Rs 420 crore in related periods, went into CAMPA creation and maintenance of plantations covering 15,869 hectares. With survival frequently reported in the 65-75% range, the long-term outcome of such expenditure depends on how many plantations survive and develop into established tree cover.
Environment activist Dilip Nath said, “Replacing mature trees lost to diversion with saplings of uncertain survival is not equivalent.”
Earlier CAG audits had flagged excess seedling production that went unused, discontinuation of nurseries after investment, cash payments to labour in violation of norms, short realisation of NPV in some cases and unreconciled fund discrepancies.
Recent CAG observations on Assam’s finances, including 2024-25, also noted accounting issues with the State Compensatory Afforestation Fund. These included expenditure being booked but not properly set off against the fund balance and large closing balances not being invested as required.
Delays in fund releases from the state government to implementing divisions, incomplete third-party or long-term survival monitoring and reliance on short-term visual checks have also been mentioned as constraints.
Annual CA targets have been missed in several years, contributing to a cumulative backlog of roughly 1,400 hectares of mandated CA in recent tallies.
Assam has continued to divert forest land for development, while longer-term tree-cover loss trends reported by Global Forest Watch show a significant decline. The India State of Forest Reports have recorded increases in forest cover, but the category includes areas that do not always represent dense, natural or high-quality forests.
The government has highlighted physical achievements in some periods, including 93.8% of a multi-year CA target, along with rising forest cover. These figures measure areas taken up for plantation and related works. The condition of the plantations, their survival, the suitability of species and sites, protection from grazing, fire and encroachment, and continued maintenance determine the longer-term outcome.
Nath said, “Reality does speak of significant shortcomings: incomplete survival, local-scale failures, imperfect fund management, and limited translation of spent money into lasting ecological gains. CAMPA in Assam has delivered hectares on paper and some measurable plantation, but systemic weaknesses in execution, monitoring, and maintenance mean it has not fully succeeded in compensating for forest diversion or delivering robust, durable green cover. Stronger independent verification, better post-planting care, stricter accountability for mortality, and a focus on quality over quantity would be needed to close this gap.”
The CAG’s 2% finding is therefore significant not because it measures every plantation programme in the country, but because it compares the GIM’s targets with observed changes in forest cover and forest-cover quality. It puts the spotlight on what happens after hectares are reported as planted—whether the trees survive, whether forest quality improves and whether the expenditure produces lasting gains.
For Assam and the Northeast, where GIM support has been limited in Assam and concentrated in states such as Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the audit adds to the need to distinguish between plantation figures and actual, surviving forest cover.