Sustaining and Growing India’s Green Mission 

The National Mission for a Green India offers hope to regenerate landscapes, empower communities, and secure a greener future.

When India launched the National Mission for a Green India (GIM) in 2014, under the framework of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, it reflected an ambitious recognition: forests are not just the lungs of the planet, but are also critical in mitigating climate change, protecting biodiversity, and securing livelihoods.  

The Mission set an ambitious goal: to expand forest and tree cover by 5 million hectares while restoring the quality of an additional 5 million hectares. Ten years on, the results highlight a familiar problem: big green promises often fall short due to poor coordination, limited funding, and competing agendas. 

The GIM attempts to reimagine afforestation beyond the narrow lens of tree planting. It aspires to integrate ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, and community participation into forest management. This is significant in a country where nearly 300 million people depend directly on forests for fuel, fodder, food, and income. By acknowledging the links between climate adaptation and rural livelihoods, the Mission positions local communities as stakeholders rather than bystanders in the ecological regeneration process. 

Yet, the progress so far has been underwhelming. The Mission was initially allocated a budget of ₹46,000 crore, but actual releases have been only a fraction of that. According to official data, less than 30% of the approved funds have been utilised, and many states continue to lag in project execution.  

Another challenge is the focus on quantity over quality. While India’s forest cover has increased in recent years, much of this growth is attributed to single-species plantations, such as eucalyptus and acacia. These plants may absorb carbon in the short term, but add little to biodiversity, water conservation, or soil health. For GIM to truly live up to its name, it must prioritise healthy, diverse ecosystems over just adding more hectares. 

Community participation, though central on paper, remains patchy on the ground. Joint Forest Management Committees were meant to empower local stakeholders, but in practice, many operate without meaningful decision-making power or financial transparency. For tribal and forest-dependent communities, whose traditional knowledge is invaluable, exclusion not only breeds mistrust but also undermines the sustainability of afforestation efforts. Genuine decentralisation, giving Gram Sabhas a more decisive say in design, monitoring, and benefit-sharing, is essential if the Mission is to succeed. 

While India’s forest cover has increased in recent years, much of this growth is attributed to single-species plantations, such as eucalyptus and acacia.

India has also pledged to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030 as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. Meeting this target is impossible without large-scale, scientifically guided, and socially inclusive afforestation. Moreover, forests are frontline defenses against climate extremes—heatwaves, floods, and droughts—that are already intensifying across the country. Strengthening GIM is therefore not a luxury, but a necessity for both climate resilience and rural livelihoods. 

What then is the way forward? First, financing must be secured, whether through increased budgetary allocation, convergence with schemes like CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund), or innovative instruments such as green bonds. Second, monitoring frameworks should shift from simply measuring tree cover to assessing ecological health – species diversity, soil fertility, and water retention. Third, the Mission must adopt a planning approach that integrates forests, farmlands, and water systems, rather than treating them in silos. And finally, institutional reforms are needed to devolve, absolute authority to local communities while ensuring accountability in the use of funds and outcomes. 

The National Mission for a Green India was conceived as more than an afforestation programme. It was envisioned as an ecological transformation. Its slow progress underscores the gap between intent and execution. But with climate risks mounting and India’s development ambitions intensifying, the Mission’s relevance has only grown sharper. Given the proper support and community ownership, the Mission can go beyond planting trees to shaping a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable India.