Losing forest for trees: On the CAG’s audit of the Green India Mission
A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of the Green India Mission (GIM), covering implementation across 16 states and Union Territories for the period 2015-16 to 2024-25, was tabled in Parliament
The audit found forest cover increased over only about 0.034 million hectares against a target of 1.4 million hectares, a shortfall of roughly 97.6%
Forest quality improved over only about 0.11 million hectares against the 1.4 million hectare target, a shortfall of nearly 92%
Budgetary support released to the Mission over the decade totalled about ₹1,149 crore, amounting to only about 48% of the approved allocation
The audit attributed the shortfalls to weak convergence with related schemes, inadequate and delayed funding, planning gaps, and weak monitoring systems, and noted that areas of low or moderate climate vulnerability were sometimes selected instead of the more vulnerable areas the Mission was meant to prioritise
Green India Mission (GIM) under the National Action Plan on Climate Change
The Green India Mission is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC, 2008), launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to protect, restore, and enhance India's forest and tree cover while improving ecosystem services and the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities.
Key Details
- NAPCC launched in 2008, comprising eight national missions, including GIM, National Solar Mission, and National Water Mission
- GIM approved by the Cabinet in 2014 with a total target of about 10 million hectares — roughly 5 million hectares of afforestation/increased forest and tree cover and 5 million hectares of quality improvement of existing degraded forest and tree cover
- Implemented in a decentralised manner through State Forest Departments, with funding intended to flow via Centrally Sponsored Scheme architecture and convergence with programmes such as MGNREGA and CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund)
The audited period (2015-16 to 2024-25) corresponds almost exactly to GIM's first decade of implementation, and the CAG's shortfall figures are measured directly against the Mission's original 2014 targets.
CAG's Role in Performance/Compliance Audits — Article 148 and 151
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is a constitutional authority under Article 148, tasked with auditing the accounts of the Union and states. Article 151 requires CAG reports relating to Union accounts to be submitted to the President, who causes them to be laid before Parliament; the Public Accounts Committee then examines them.
Key Details
- Article 148: appointment, tenure (6 years or till 65 years of age, whichever is earlier), and independence of the CAG (removal only like a Supreme Court judge, under Article 148(4)-(5) safeguards)
- Article 149: CAG's duties and powers are as prescribed by Parliament — currently the CAG's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971
- Article 151: CAG reports on Union accounts go to the President for tabling in Parliament; reports on state accounts go to the Governor for tabling in the state legislature
- CAG performance audits (like this one on GIM) assess whether a scheme achieved its stated objectives economically, efficiently, and effectively — distinct from a compliance/financial audit that only checks procedural correctness
This is a performance audit exposing the gap between GIM's stated afforestation/quality-improvement targets and actual outcomes, exercising the CAG's constitutional mandate to hold executive schemes accountable to Parliament.
Convergence Mechanisms: CAMPA and MGNREGA in Forestry
GIM was designed to work in convergence with other forestry- and livelihood-linked schemes rather than operate as a stand-alone programme, since afforestation work often overlaps with compensatory afforestation obligations and rural employment guarantee activities.
Key Details
- CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) manages funds collected from project developers who divert forest land for non-forest use, under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016
- MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005) can fund plantation and forestry-related works as part of guaranteed rural employment
- The CAG audit found this intended convergence was weak in practice, with other afforestation-linked schemes (such as Nagar Van Yojana and School Nursery Yojana) functioning largely in silos rather than feeding into GIM's targets
The audit's core critique — "counting trees instead of restoring forests" — stems partly from this convergence failure: funds and afforestation activity under CAMPA/MGNREGA were not being systematically channelled to meet GIM's quality-improvement and vulnerability-targeting objectives.
- Audit period: 2015-16 to 2024-25, covering 16 states and Union Territories
- Forest cover increase: about 0.034 million hectares achieved against a 1.4 million hectare target (~97.6% shortfall)
- Forest quality improvement: about 0.11 million hectares achieved against a 1.4 million hectare target (~91.9% shortfall)
- Budgetary support released: about ₹1,149 crore over the decade, ~48% of the approved allocation
- GIM's original (2014) overall target: about 10 million hectares (5 million afforestation/cover increase + 5 million quality improvement)
- Constitutional basis for the audit: Articles 148, 149, and 151 (CAG's appointment, duties, and reporting to Parliament)
- CAG report tabled in Parliament in August 2026