Discuss the objectives of the Green India Mission and critically examine the reasons for its poor implementation as highlighted by recent CAG findings.

Launched in 2014 under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the National Mission for a Green India (GIM) is one of the eight missions of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, targeting 10 million hectares (mha) of forest and non-forest land [1]. A CAG performance audit tabled in August 2026 has now exposed a decade of implementation failure.

Objectives of the Mission

• Increase forest/tree cover on 5 mha and improve the quality of existing cover on another 5 mha [1].
• Enhance ecosystem services — carbon sequestration, hydrological services and biodiversity [1].
• Improve livelihoods of forest-dependent households through plantation-linked employment [1].
• Strengthen decentralised forest governance by routing funds through state perspective plans and Annual Plans of Operation [1].

CAG findings: why implementation faltered

• Target failure: against 1.4 mha each, forest cover rose on only 0.03409 mha (97.57% shortfall) and quality improved on 0.11384 mha (91.87% shortfall) across 16 States/UTs audited for 2015-16 to 2024-25 [2].
• Chronic underfunding: only ₹1,149 crore (about 48%) of the ₹2,000 crore approved outlay was released; fund utilisation fell to roughly 28% in RE 2025-26 [2][3].
• Planning deficits: of 68 sampled Annual Plans of Operation, only six reached the Ministry before the financial year began, and none was approved on time [2].
• Weak convergence with CAMPA and MGNREGS diluted on-ground impact, while GIS checks showed no discernible change at nearly 70% of sampled sites [2].
• Accountability gaps: eight States/UTs maintained no annual accounts, and carbon sequestration was assessed only in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh [2].

Yet the failure is not wholly administrative — forestry is a Concurrent List subject demanding sustained state capacity, and allocations long trailed demand, though 2026-27 saw a 63% increase [3]. Reviving GIM therefore requires assured multi-year funding, mandatory convergence with CAMPA and MGNREGS, third-party survival audits, and community stewardship under the Forest Rights Act — essential if India is to meet its NDC carbon-sink pledge and SDG 15.