Green India Mission: Twelve Years On, Only 8% of the Target Achieved

A CAG audit of 16 states exposes poor implementation, weak monitoring and serious lapses in afforestation and carbon sequestration efforts

Sarokar | By Dr. Chander Sonane

Every monsoon, India witnesses a familiar spectacle: governments launch plantation drives, dignitaries plant saplings and the message—“Plant trees, save the environment”—echoes across cities and villages. Yet, behind this annual burst of environmental enthusiasm lies a deeply disturbing reality.

The Green India Mission, launched in 2012 with the ambitious objective of increasing forest cover, improving the quality of existing forests and strengthening the country's carbon sink capacity, has achieved only about 8 per cent of its target even after 12 years. In other words, nearly 92 per cent of the targeted work remains incomplete.

The findings emerging from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of 16 states raise serious questions about the manner in which one of India's key climate and afforestation programmes has been implemented.

Under the mission, the government had set a target of improving the quality of forest cover over 1.4 million hectares across the country. However, only about 110,000 hectares were covered in 12 years—just 8 per cent of the target.

The figures are not merely disappointing; they expose a significant gap between environmental commitments made on paper and their implementation on the ground.

Madhya Pradesh: A dismal 7.91% achievement

The situation in Madhya Pradesh, one of India's major forested states, is equally worrying.

Under the Green India Mission, the state had set a target in 2012 to undertake plantations over 340,700 hectares. Against this ambitious target, plantation work was carried out over only 26,939 hectares.

That translates into an achievement of merely 7.91 per cent, leaving 92.09 per cent of the target unfulfilled.

The contrast between the scale of publicity surrounding plantation campaigns and the actual area covered on the ground is striking. Every year, plantation drives generate headlines and official photographs, but the CAG findings suggest that the real measure of success lies far beyond ceremonial tree planting.

Carbon sequestration: A critical gap

One of the most important objectives of the Green India Mission is to enhance the country's ability to absorb carbon dioxide and thereby contribute to the fight against climate change.

Yet the CAG found that among the 16 states audited, only Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh undertook assessments of carbon sequestration during 2015–25. The remaining 14 states did not undertake such assessments.

This is a serious deficiency. Without measuring how much carbon is actually being absorbed by forests and plantations, it becomes extremely difficult to determine whether the Green India Mission is making any meaningful contribution to India's climate goals.

In effect, the country has been pursuing a major environmental programme without being able to accurately measure one of its most important outcomes.

An ambitious 2030 target

The Green India Mission aims to create an additional 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂-equivalent carbon sink capacity by 2030.

In October 2015, states were directed to undertake the necessary measures and assessments to achieve this objective. However, according to the CAG findings, by March 2025 most states had not complied with these directions.

Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh took some steps in this direction. Two flux towers were installed at Ghatpur and Sonhat to measure carbon absorption. Around Rs 3.5 crore was spent on the two installations.

But even this effort appears to have suffered from poor maintenance and inadequate technical resources. The system, initiated in 2020, has reportedly become non-functional because of shortages of sensors and other technical equipment.

Thus, even where infrastructure was created to measure carbon absorption, it has not delivered the intended results.

Monitoring—the missing link

The CAG audit has also highlighted serious shortcomings in monitoring the Green India Mission.

The problem is not restricted to the number of trees planted or the area covered. A successful environmental programme requires continuous monitoring, independent verification and reliable data to establish whether the plantations survive and whether they actually contribute to improving forest quality and absorbing carbon.

The CAG found significant deficiencies in monitoring mechanisms at different levels in the states. As a result, it could not be established how much the Green India Mission had actually contributed to combating climate change.

This raises a fundamental question: If the outcomes of a national environmental mission cannot be properly measured, how can its success be established?

Serious irregularities in Madhya Pradesh

The CAG audit of Madhya Pradesh has brought several other irregularities to light.

Fourteen committees were found to have undertaken work without preparing proper plans. Payments amounting to Rs 70.67 crore were made at the departmental level across eight divisions of the state.

The audit also found that out of 145 committees, only five had their accounts audited by Chartered Accountants. The remaining committees did not undergo the required audit process.

Such findings raise questions not only about financial accountability but also about the overall planning and execution of the mission.

Where did the greenery go?

Perhaps one of the most striking findings relates to Barwani district.

According to records, work had reportedly commenced over 444 hectares. However, during the CAG's field inspection, greenery was not found at several sites, including RF-269 and other locations.

Even more seriously, at one site covering 68 hectares, no work was found at all.

These findings underline the difference that can exist between what is recorded in official documents and what actually exists on the ground.

For a programme whose very purpose is to create and protect greenery, such discrepancies cannot be dismissed as minor administrative shortcomings.

More officials, but fewer results?

The situation becomes even more puzzling when viewed against the expansion of the Forest Department over the past two decades.

In Madhya Pradesh, as in several other states, the Forest Department has expanded considerably. Posts and administrative structures have increased at district and divisional levels, with senior officials being deployed at various levels.

Yet the performance of the Green India Mission remains poor.

This raises a larger question about administrative accountability: Does an increase in the number of officials necessarily translate into better implementation and better outcomes?

The CAG findings suggest that merely expanding the administrative machinery is not enough. What matters is effective planning, field-level supervision, transparent financial management and measurable results.

Plantation drives cannot remain ceremonial

India's environmental challenges are becoming increasingly complex. Climate change, rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, land degradation and the loss of biodiversity demand sustained and scientifically monitored action.

Against this backdrop, plantation programmes cannot be reduced to annual ceremonial events.

A sapling planted for a photograph is not the same as a tree that survives, grows and contributes to restoring an ecosystem. The success of an afforestation programme must therefore be measured not merely by the number of saplings planted but by their survival, the improvement in forest quality and the amount of carbon actually sequestered.

The Green India Mission was conceived with precisely such long-term objectives. The CAG findings, however, indicate that implementation has fallen far short of expectations.

Fix responsibility, not just targets

The government must now move beyond announcing targets and conducting plantation campaigns. Responsibility needs to be fixed at every level where implementation has failed.

States with exceptionally poor performance should be required to explain the reasons for the shortfall. Forest officials at the state, divisional and district levels should be held accountable wherever negligence or failure to discharge assigned responsibilities is established.

Equally important is the need for independent monitoring and transparent reporting. Every rupee spent and every hectare reported as planted should be verifiable. The survival rate of plantations should be publicly available, and carbon sequestration should be scientifically measured.

The deadline of 2030 is approaching. There is little value in waiting until then to discover that targets have once again remained largely on paper.

The real test begins now

The Green India Mission was launched with an objective that is too important to fail. India's forests are not merely a source of greenery; they are critical to biodiversity, water security, climate resilience and the country's ability to absorb carbon emissions.

The CAG audit of 16 states has provided an important warning. With only around 8 per cent of the targeted work achieved, the country cannot afford business as usual.

The government and the states must treat the CAG findings as an opportunity to correct the system—strengthen monitoring, ensure financial accountability, scientifically measure carbon sequestration and make officials answerable for results.

The message is simple: India does not need more plantation ceremonies. It needs more surviving trees, healthier forests and measurable environmental outcomes.

Only then will the Green India Mission move from the realm of official targets and monsoon slogans to a programme capable of delivering the environmental transformation for which it was created.

About the Author

Dr. Chander Sonane is a retired Joint Director of the Madhya Pradesh Public Relations Department and is based in Ujjain. He has a keen interest in contemporary and social issues and writes candidly on matters of public interest through his column “Sarokar.”