The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has highlighted significant deficiencies in the implementation of the Green India Mission (GIM) by Maharashtra’s forest department, citing issues such as financial mismanagement, inadequate survival rates of planted trees, and the near-total failure of institutional frameworks.
Launched in 2014 by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the GIM aims to safeguard, restore, and enhance green cover across 16 states and Union Territories from 2015-16 to 2024-25. In Maharashtra, 35 locations spanning four talukas in Nandurbar, Bhor, and Wadsa were designated for the initiative.
The GIM is one of eight missions outlined in India’s national climate action plan and is integral to the country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement, adopted at COP21 in 2015, which prioritizes the expansion of forest and tree cover.
According to the CAG report, Maharashtra has largely failed to meet the primary objectives of the GIM within the stipulated timeframe. Attempts to reach Milind Mhaiskar, the additional chief secretary of the forest department, for comments were unsuccessful as he has not yet responded.
A fundamental goal of the GIM was to restructure the state’s forest development agency (SFDA), which is responsible for executing afforestation and eco-development initiatives, managing funds from the Union ministry, and representing the state on a national level. Previously led by the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), the SFDA was intended to be chaired by the chief minister or a minister appointed by the CM under the GIM, including the PCCF and key personnel from the forest department.
The CAG’s findings revealed that the SFDA in Maharashtra was never reformed as directed. Over the ten-year period from 2014-15 to 2024-25, the SFDA did not convene a single meeting.
The state steering committee (SSC), established in April 2016 to assist district planning bodies with GIM and afforestation efforts, met only once by 2025, instead of the 18 meetings that were scheduled over nine years.
In the fiscal year 2018-19, the state allocated Rs 17.17 crore to the SFDA after a delay of 206 days. The SFDA reported spending Rs 12.75 crore that year, leaving an unutilized balance of Rs 4.42 crore. However, the audit contradicted these claims, revealing that only Rs 9.26 crore was actually disbursed to five forest development agencies (FDAs), and just Rs 0.29 crore was used, while the FDA and SFDAs asserted full fund utilization.
Additionally, the SFDA did not establish a bank account for the scheme until August 2021. Rs 1.91 crore was deposited with four district planning bodies—Gothangaon, Netali, Kosbad, and Jamsher—that were not included in the mission, while eight districts that were beneficiaries received no funds.
In July 2019, the state planted 49,500 saplings in the Wardha region at a cost of Rs 33 lakh. However, the SFDA failed to provide records of sapling supply from nurseries and only submitted transport challans for 9,336 saplings, many of which were linked to plantation sites outside Wardha. Some were issued after the scheduled planting date, with only 116 saplings actually planted at the designated site.
Afforestation efforts were conducted over 205 hectares across 35 sites in Goramba and Valval (Nandurbar), Rayari (Bhor), and Yerandi (Wadsa). The SFDA reported survival rates of 50% at Goramba, 66.33% at Valval, 96% at Rayari, and 61.20% at Yerandi. However, the CAG discovered that survival rates were actually nonexistent at Goramba, 8.42% at Valval, under 5% at Rayari, and under 10% at Yerandi.
The CAG attributed the destruction of many saplings primarily to livestock owned by tribal villagers nearby. In certain instances, daily wage workers who had not received payment from local authorities left their cattle at the sites, hindering protective measures for the saplings, which were further exacerbated by late fund disbursement.
Furthermore, the CAG pointed to the lack of soil moisture conservation (SMC) activities, essential for preventing soil erosion and enhancing water retention, as a critical issue. None of the 35 sites received SMC work, resulting in a complete shortfall in this area.
