Lok Sabha Question No. 3504 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-11
Subject: Tree Plantation under Grants-in-Aid Scheme
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Mukeshkumar Chandrakaant Dalal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3504

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2025

## Tree Plantation under Grants-in-Aid Scheme

## 3504.   SHRI MUKESHKUMAR CHANDRAKAANT DALAL:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  the  hectares  of  land  being  covered  for  tree  plantation  under  the Grants-in-Aid Scheme for Tree Plantation's since its inception, State/UT and yearwise;
- (b) the details of the saplings planted and the total area covered under the said scheme and the measures taken/being taken to ensure their survival and growth, State and year-wise;
- (c) the  details  of  the  financial  assistance  provided  for  planting  and  maintaining  trees under the said scheme and in which manner the sanctioned amount is disbursed to Non- Governmental and Voluntary Organizations;
- (d) the  details  of  the  measurable  outcomes  or  environmental  benefits  have  been achieved under the aforementioned Scheme; and
- (e) the steps taken or proposed/to be taken by the Government to increase awareness among NGOs and local communities to encourage greater participation under the scheme?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

- (a) & (b) The Ministry is implementing a Central Sponsored Scheme National Mission for a Green  India  (GIM)  for  taking  up  the  tree  plantation  and  eco-restoration  in  the selected landscapes which requires reciprocal financial obligation from the respective  States  and  UTs..  GIM  is  one  of  the  eight  Missions  outlined  under  the National  Action  Plan  on  Climate  Change.  It  aims  at  protecting,  restoring,  and enhancing India's forest cover and responding to Climate Change by undertaking plantation  activities  in  the  forest  and  non-forest  areas  in  the  selected  landscapes. GIM activities  were  started  in  the  FY  2015-16.  So  far,  seventeen  States  namely Andhra  Pradesh,  Arunachal  Pradesh,  Chhattisgarh,  Haryana,  Himachal  Pradesh, Karnataka  Kerala,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  Manipur,  Mizoram,  Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and one union territory Jammu & Kashmir have been taken up under Green India Mission. The State wise and year wise detail of area taken up for creation of plantation/eco-restoration under Green India Mission is detailed in Annexure-1.

To ensure the survival rate and growth, monitoring of plantations under the Green India Mission (GIM) is carried out through a multi-tiered approach involving both State and Central level mechanisms. States/UTs conduct annual physical verification of plantation sites to assess the survival rate of saplings and document reasons  for  any  observed  mortality.  Further,  the  State  Forest  Department  takes corrective  interventions  including  focused  maintenance  drives  to  address  sitespecific challenges regarding survival rate. As part of their annual progress reports, States  submit .kml  files and  geo-tagged  photographs  of  plantation  sites  to  the Ministry, which are used for centralized verification and monitoring.

- (c) The  activities  under  GIM  are  being  taken  up  in  the  selected  landscapes  through active participation of Joint  Forest  Management  Committees  (JFMCs).  The statewise detail of funds released/financial assistance provided to the States under Green India Mission is given in Annexure-2.
- (d) The Green India Mission (GIM) has significantly contributed to the overall increase in India's forest & tree cover. According to the India State of Forest Reports, forest cover have increased from approximately 794245.00 sq km in 2015 to 827356.95 sq km in 2023, representing a net increase of about 33111.95 sq km. These gains are attributable  to  various  afforestation  and  restoration  initiatives  carried  out  at  both state and central levels, including the Green India Mission.
- (e) The Ministry has undertaken initiatives to raise awareness and encourage participation of local communities such as promotion of 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam ' campaign  to  foster  emotional  and  community  connection  to  tree  planting.  The Ministry is also using digital platforms like MeriLiFE portal and other social media outreach  to  engage  a  wider  audience,  including  youth  and  urban  NGOs,  for enhanced outreach and transparency.

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Annexure-1

Annexure referred to in reply of part (a) & (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3504 regarding 'Tree Plantation under Grants-in-Aid Scheme' raised by Shri Shri Mukeshkumar Chandrakaant Dalal due for reply on 11.08.2025.

## The State wise and year wise detail of area taken up for creation of plantation/eco-restoration under Green India Mission:

(Area in Ha)

| Sl. No.   | States            | 2015- 16   | 2016- 17   | 2017- 18   | 2018- 19   | 2019- 20   | 2020- 21   | 2021- 22   | 2022- 23   | 2023- 24   | 2024- 25   | Total creation of plantation/eco- restoration   |
|-----------|-------------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh    | 0          | 534        | 0          | 0          | 0          | 899        | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 1,433                                           |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 4,412      | 902        | 5,314                                           |
| 3         | Chhattisgarh      | 19,128     | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 19,128                                          |
| 4         | Haryana           | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 1,301      |            | 0          | 1,301                                           |
| 5         | Himachal Pradesh  | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 574        | 556        | 169        | 1,299                                           |
| 6         | Jammu &Kashmir    | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 951        | 115        | 712        | 0          | 1,778                                           |
| 7         | Karnataka         | 760        | 0          | 0          | 600        | 0          | 560        | 405        | 397        | 0          | 0          | 2,722                                           |
| 8         | Kerala            | 0          | 2,762      | 6,253      | 0          | 631        | 2,171      | 480        | 0          | 0          | 0          | 12,297                                          |
| 9         | Madhya Pradesh    | 0          | 0          | 0          | 10,554     | 8,236      | 680        | 0          | 7,127      | 6,234      | 0          | 32,831                                          |
| 10        | Maharashtra       | 0          | 0          | 0          | 5,223      | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 5,223                                           |
| 11        | Manipur           | 8,798      | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 2,942      | 2,692      | 0          | 0          | 2,056      | 16,488                                          |
| 12        | Mizoram           | 0          | 19,643     | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 19,643                                          |
| 13        | Odisha            | 2,178      | 21         | 21         | 6,965      | 7,450      | 1,473      | 2,603      | 0          | 0          | 0          | 20,711                                          |
| 14        | Punjab            | 0          | 1,286      | 1,732      | 0          | 0          | 1,100      | 875        | 1,575      | 0          | 0          | 6,568                                           |
| 15        | Sikkim            | 0          | 0          | 0          | 1,509      | 0          | 0          | 2,474      | 2,584      | 0          | 0          | 6,567                                           |
| 16        | Uttarakhand       | 0          | 0          | 0          | 7,483      | 0          | 0          | 1,706      | 3,297      | 2,350      | 0          | 14,836                                          |
| 17        | West Bengal       | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 995        | 1,611      | 0          | 0          | 2,606                                           |
| 18        | Uttar Pradesh*    | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0          | 0                                               |
| Total     | Total             | 30,864     | 24,246     | 8,006      | 32,335     | 16,317     | 9,825      | 13,181     | 18,581     | 14,264     | 3,127      | 1,70,745                                        |

*The GIM activities were started in 2024-25 and the state has taken advance work only for taking up the creation/plantation activities in current financial year.

Annexure referred to in reply of part (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.  3504  regarding  'Tree  Plantation  under  Grants-in-Aid  Scheme'  raised  by Shri Shri Mukeshkumar Chandrakaant Dalal due for reply on 11.08.2025.

The State wise detail of fund released under Green India Mission from FY 201516 to till date:

(Rs. in Crore)

| Sl. No.   | States            |   Total Funds Released |
|-----------|-------------------|------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh    |                   6.19 |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh |                  34.71 |
| 3         | Chhattisgarh      |                  72.84 |
| 4         | Haryana           |                  47.73 |
| 5         | Himachal Pradesh  |                  17.09 |
| 6         | Jammu &Kashmir    |                  36.72 |
| 7         | Karnataka         |                  23.66 |
| 8         | Kerala            |                  41.88 |
| 9         | Madhya Pradesh    |                 123.26 |
| 10        | Maharashtra       |                  10.3  |
| 11        | Manipur           |                  65.72 |
| 12        | Mizoram           |                 160.21 |
| 13        | Odisha            |                  88.37 |
| 14        | Punjab            |                  26.95 |
| 15        | Sikkim            |                  42.73 |
| 16        | Uttarakhand       |                 167.59 |
| 17        | West Bengal       |                  10.95 |
| 18        | Uttar Pradesh     |                   5.43 |
| Total     | Total             |                 982.34 |

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