Lok Sabha Question No. 2657 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-17
Subject: Inaccuracies in ISFR, 2023
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Kuldeep Indora, Shri Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Shri Sudama Prasad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2657

TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.03.2025

## Inaccuracies in ISFR, 2023

## 2657.   SHRI SUDAMA PRASAD: SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA: SHRI KULDEEP INDORA:

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

- (a)   whether  the  Government  has  taken  cognizance  of  the  Report  published  in  the  The Wire.in dated 4/02/25 stating the Green Credit Programme (GCP) as a flawed Scheme which allows businesses to earn green credits for dubious plantation, later used for diverting forests, if so, the action taken by the Government against the same, if not, the reasons therefor;
- (b)   the details of the plantations funded under the GCP since its inception;
- (c)   the details of appropriate regulations are in place to prevent false greenwashing by big business under GCP including measures taken against the same;
- (d)  whether  as  per  the  Report,  increase  in  tree  cover  majorly  constituted  plantations including. coconut, oil palm and rubber, if so, the measures taken against the same by the Government;
- (e)   whether any Committee was constituted before the implementation of GCP, if so, the details of the Reports, submitted by the said Committee;
- (f)  the  measures  being  taken  to  address  deforestation,  considering  reports  that  1.49 million hectares of forests were lost in the last decade;
- (g) whether the ISFR methodology is aligned with Supreme Court directives on forest conservation and the steps taken to digitize and legally protect forest areas; and
- (h) whether the Government plans to revise ISFR assessment methods to ensure scientific accuracy,  transparency  and  reliable  ground-truthing,  if  so,  the  measures  taken  to ensure the correct assessment of our forests from time to time?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

- (a) to (h).  The Central Government has notified Green Credit Rules, 2023 on 12 th October 2023 under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 to encourage voluntary environmental positive actions resulting in issuance of Green Credits and has also developed a Green

Credit Programme (GCP) Portal (https://moefcc-gcp.in/) for the purpose.

Currently, the activity of tree plantation for eco-restoration of degraded forest lands is being  implemented  under  the  Green  Credit  Programme  (GCP).  State-wise  status  of registered land parcels in the country as on 04.03.2025, is enclosed as Annexure - I. Since inception, 3610.47 ha of degraded forest land on 172 land parcels in different states has been  selected  for  eco-restoration  by  Central  Public  Sector  Undertakings  (CPSUs)  and funding for eco-restoration and maintenance up to 10 years has been received from these entities (Annexure - II).

The Ministry has undertaken deliberations with Central Ministries/Departments, experts, industry, research and academia and other stakeholders for the Green Credit Programme. Technical Committee was constituted to develop methodologies and monitoring, reporting and verification mechanism for green credits in tree plantation based activity. Detailed modalities for taking up tree plantation under Green Credit Programme have been brought out by the Ministry in February 2024 (Annexure - III). Transparency and accountability of GCP is enabled through methodologies, guidelines and digital processes.

Methodology used in ISFRs (India State of Forest Report) is based on satellite image interpretation  for  assessing  the  forest  cover  of  the  country.  Over  the  years,  several technological advances have been adopted by FSI which have significantly improved the forest cove mapping carried out by FSI. The advancements include use of better satellite data,  higher  scales  of  mapping  and  improvement  in  methods  of  interpretation.  While assessing the forest cover, FSI considers both Recorded Forest Areas (RFAs) and areas outside recorded forests and uses digitized boundaries of RFAs provided by State Forest Departments  (SFDs)  and  Union  Territories  (UTs)  for  its  assessments  and  monitoring activities. For ISFR 2023, FSI has received Recorded Forest Area boundaries in digital format from 25 State Forest Departments (SFDs)/UTs. The details of the areas enclosed in the RFA boundaries provided by SFDs are given in Annexure - IV, as per ISFR 2023. Database provided by State Forest Departments has been incorporated in the Web-GlS based Decision Support System (DSS) portal made by FSI for clearance of projects under Forest Conservation Act (1980).

For keeping a track on the country's forest resources FSI publishes a biennial report on forests, ''India State of Forest Report". The first report of 1987 used LANDSAT-MSS satellite data with a spatial resolution of 80 m at 1:1 million scale whereas the latest report i.e. ISFR 2023 is based on Resourcesat-2 LISS III satellite image, with a spatial resolution of  23.5  m  and  scale  of  1:50,000.  FSI  has  always  kept  pace  with  technological advancements and improved its assessment over the years. To ensure scientific accuracy, transparency,  reliable  ground  truthing  and  correct  assessment  of  forest  cover,  FSI increased its ground truthing points from 3,414 in ISFR 2021 to 8,494 in ISFR 2023.

*****

## Annexure I

## Status of Progress of Implementation of the Green Credit Programme as on 04.03.2025

| S. No.   | State          |   Total registered land parcels/blocks on GCP portal by Forest Departments (No.) |   Total registered land parcels/blocks on GCP portal by Forest Departments (Area ha) |
|----------|----------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1        | ANDHRA PRADESH |                                                                              778 |                                                                             12131    |
| 2        | ASSAM          |                                                                               10 |                                                                               454    |
| 3        | BIHAR          |                                                                               57 |                                                                              4108.71 |
| 4        | CHHATTISGARH   |                                                                               94 |                                                                              1954.92 |
| 5        | GOA            |                                                                                2 |                                                                                10    |
| 6        | GUJARAT        |                                                                              159 |                                                                              3122.48 |
| 7        | HARYANA        |                                                                               14 |                                                                               128    |
| 8        | JHARKHAND      |                                                                              351 |                                                                              5671.89 |
| 9        | KARNATAKA      |                                                                               38 |                                                                              1027.6  |
| 10       | MADHYA PRADESH |                                                                              310 |                                                                             15020.6  |
| 11       | MAHARASHTRA    |                                                                              107 |                                                                              1572.55 |
| 12       | ODISHA         |                                                                              105 |                                                                              1029.63 |
| 13       | RAJASTHAN      |                                                                               17 |                                                                               908    |
| 14       | TAMIL NADU     |                                                                              167 |                                                                              4708.04 |
| 15       | TELANGANA      |                                                                               77 |                                                                              1738.02 |
| 16       | UTTAR PRADESH  |                                                                               67 |                                                                               883.96 |
| 17       | UTTARAKHAND    |                                                                               11 |                                                                               200.03 |
|          | Total          |                                                                             2364 |                                                                             54669.5  |

ANNEXURE - II

## The details of the plantations funded under the GCP since its inception:

|   S.N O | Re g. No   | Entity Name                      | State         | Division                      |   Final Area | Total Amount Received   |
|---------|------------|----------------------------------|---------------|-------------------------------|--------------|-------------------------|
|       1 | 24 1       | COAL INDIA LIMITED ASSAM         |               | Goalpara                      |           99 | 5,21,92,257. 70         |
|       2 | 21 7       | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ASSAM         | WEstern Assam Wildlife        |           50 | 2,96,35,846. 90         |
|       3 | 21 5       | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ASSAM         | WEstern Assam Wildlife        |           35 | 2,04,29,252. 80         |
|       4 | 21 9       | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ASSAM         | Kamrup West                   |            5 | 48,73,371.80            |
|       5 | 22 0       | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ASSAM         | Kamrup West                   |           34 | 2,35,32,958. 90         |
|       6 | 22 1       | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ASSAM         | Kamrup West                   |           16 | 1,10,35,391. 40         |
|       7 | 23 7       | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ASSAM         | Goalpara                      |           80 | 4,25,82,332. 10         |
|       8 | 24 0       | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ASSAM         | Goalpara                      |           84 | 5,04,83,736. 60         |
|       9 | 23 9       | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ASSAM         | Goalpara                      |           25 | 1,65,91,941. 30         |
|      10 | 23 8       | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ASSAM         | Goalpara                      |           25 | 1,59,46,792. 40         |
|      11 | 13 45      | Bharat Coking Coal Limited       | BIHAR         | KAIMUR                        |           50 | 3,24,84,940. 00         |
|      12 | 24 3       | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.      | BIHAR         | MUNGER                        |          100 | 4,68,56,932. 00         |
|      13 | 24 4       | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.      | BIHAR         | MUNGER                        |           50 | 2,39,91,404. 00         |
|      14 | 28 2       | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.      | BIHAR         | ROHTAS                        |           50 | 2,90,21,330. 00         |
|      15 | 31 2       | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.      | BIHAR         | KAIMUR                        |          100 | 6,00,39,735. 00         |
|      16 | 35 5       | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.      | BIHAR         | NAWADA                        |           55 | 3,39,49,411. 00         |
|      17 | 12 67      | Numaligarh Refinery Limited      | BIHAR         | NAWADA                        |           55 | 3,33,61,448. 00         |
|      18 | 64 8       | NORTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH | Kanker Division               |           20 | 2,57,32,978. 70         |
|      19 | 74 9       | NORTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH | Janjgir-Champa Division       |           10 | 1,28,66,480. 00         |
|      20 | 82 3       | NORTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division |           25 | 3,21,66,200. 00         |
|      21 | 39 0       | NORTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH | Jashpur Division              |           19 | 2,44,46,333. 00         |

|   22 | 26 2   | NTPC Limited                     | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra               |   9 | 1,15,79,832. 00   |
|------|--------|----------------------------------|-----------------|-------------------------------|-----|-------------------|
|   23 | 12 3   | NTPC Limited                     | CHHATTISG ARH   | Raigarh Division              |  10 | 1,28,66,480. 00   |
|   24 | 12 0   | NTPC Limited                     | CHHATTISG ARH   | Raigarh Division              |  15 | 1,92,99,720. 00   |
|   25 | 27 7   | NTPC Limited                     | CHHATTISG ARH   | Janjgir-Champa Division       |  15 | 1,89,13,725. 60   |
|   26 | 26 6   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra               |  12 | 1,54,11,704. 00   |
|   27 | 12 43  | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Janjgir-Champa Division       |   5 | 64,21,543.00      |
|   28 | 12 43  | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Janjgir-Champa Division       |  20 | 2,56,86,173. 00   |
|   29 | 31 8   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Surajpur Division             |  30 | 3,91,08,241. 00   |
|   30 | 29 3   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Surajpur Division             |  25 | 3,21,07,742. 00   |
|   31 | 32 3   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Surajpur Division             |  20 | 2,56,86,195. 00   |
|   32 | 28 6   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Surajpur Division             |  20 | 2,56,86,195. 00   |
|   33 | 46 0   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Korba Division                |  10 | 1,28,43,052. 00   |
|   34 | 25 1   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division |  40 | 5,13,72,346. 00   |
|   35 | 37 9   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division |  25 | 3,21,07,716. 00   |
|   36 | 27 2   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division |  10 | 1,28,43,086. 00   |
|   37 | 25 9   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division |  20 | 2,56,86,173. 00   |
|   38 | 25 2   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division |  26 | 3,33,92,027. 00   |
|   39 | 28 1   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division |  19 | 2,44,01,864. 00   |
|   40 | 27 9   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division |  20 | 2,56,86,173. 00   |

|   41 | 27 4   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED   | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division   |   15 | 1,92,99,720. 00   |
|------|--------|------------------------------------|-----------------|---------------------------------|------|-------------------|
|   42 | 27 0   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED   | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division   |   15 | 1,92,64,630. 00   |
|   43 | 26 8   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED   | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division   |   20 | 2,56,86,173. 00   |
|   44 | 26 5   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED   | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division   |   15 | 1,92,64,630. 00   |
|   45 | 26 1   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED   | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division   |   20 | 2,56,86,173. 00   |
|   46 | 26 7   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED   | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division   |   10 | 1,28,43,086. 00   |
|   47 | 26 3   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED   | CHHATTISG ARH   | Marwahi, Pendra Road Division   |   10 | 1,28,43,086. 00   |
|   48 | 21 88  | ONGC, Goa                          | GOA             | North Goa Division              |    5 | 53,75,508.60      |
|   49 | 37 3   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Godhra                          |   63 | 4,92,79,692. 00   |
|   50 | 41 0   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Sabarkantha                     |   50 | 3,11,35,874. 00   |
|   51 | 41 1   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Sabarkantha                     |   50 | 3,12,21,898. 00   |
|   52 | 41 4   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Sabarkantha                     |   40 | 2,47,83,220. 00   |
|   53 | 40 8   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Surendranagar                   |   20 | 1,28,49,760. 00   |
|   54 | 47 1   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Aravalli                        |   22 | 1,78,36,588. 00   |
|   55 | 33 2   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Chhotaudepur                    |   25 | 1,52,50,466. 00   |
|   56 | 34 0   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Aravalli                        |   36 | 2,57,04,910. 00   |
|   57 | 46 7   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Aravalli                        |   10 | 76,63,502.00      |
|   58 | 46 6   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Aravalli                        |   10 | 75,41,688.00      |
|   59 | 42 1   | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.        | GUJARAT         | Aravalli                        |   30 | 1,93,03,746. 00   |
|   60 | 92 8   | NHPC Limited                       | GUJARAT         | Chhotaudepur                    |   10 | 76,71,048.00      |
|   61 | 98 0   | NHPC Limited                       | GUJARAT         | Vyara                           |    5 | 58,75,100.00      |
|   62 | 79 8   | NHPC Limited                       | GUJARAT         | Sabarkantha                     |    9 | 66,35,090.00      |
|   63 | 13 51  | NHPC Limited                       | GUJARAT         | Surat                           |   10 | 73,27,166.00      |

|   64 | 13 52   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Surat                |   5 | 35,54,166.00    |
|------|---------|-------------------------------------|-----------|----------------------|-----|-----------------|
|   65 | 13 53   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Surat                |   5 | 38,88,346.00    |
|   66 | 98 4    | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 58,14,732.00    |
|   67 | 83 7    | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 55,64,636.00    |
|   68 | 11 21   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 58,25,512.00    |
|   69 | 10 31   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Dang-North           |  10 | 67,47,202.00    |
|   70 | 10 35   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Dang-North           |   5 | 37,58,986.00    |
|   71 | 10 45   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Dang-North           |  10 | 67,31,032.00    |
|   72 | 10 19   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Dang-North           |  10 | 66,37,246.00    |
|   73 | 93 6    | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Surendranagar        |   6 | 44,62,920.00    |
|   74 | 11 20   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 51,78,712.00    |
|   75 | 83 9    | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |  10 | 76,72,126.00    |
|   76 | 13 43   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |  10 | 65,05,730.00    |
|   77 | 97 7    | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 70,27,482.00    |
|   78 | 13 44   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 57,69,456.00    |
|   79 | 13 41   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 58,93,426.00    |
|   80 | 97 9    | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 58,83,724.00    |
|   81 | 13 40   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 61,16,572.00    |
|   82 | 13 42   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 67,21,330.00    |
|   83 | 98 5    | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Vyara                |   5 | 59,30,078.00    |
|   84 | 11 25   | NHPC Limited                        | GUJARAT   | Banaskantha          |  10 | 88,52,536.00    |
|   85 | 91 7    | NORTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED    | GUJARAT   | Baria                |  10 | 71,90,700.00    |
|   86 | 88 7    | NORTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED    | GUJARAT   | Bharuch Sub Division |  10 | 69,53,100.00    |
|   87 | 86 4    | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd | GUJARAT   | Godhra               |  16 | 1,27,22,600. 00 |
|   88 | 42 0    | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd | GUJARAT   | Sabarkantha          |  15 | 1,22,40,800. 00 |

|   89 | 76 3   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Mahisagar    |   14 | 1,33,16,600. 00   |
|------|--------|---------------------------------------|-----------|--------------|------|-------------------|
|   90 | 32 1   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Surat        |   10 | 67,12,200.00      |
|   91 | 32 5   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Surat        |   20 | 1,50,10,600. 00   |
|   92 | 87 9   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Gandhinagar  |   15 | 1,92,23,600. 00   |
|   93 | 86 8   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Valsad-South |   20 | 1,25,56,500. 00   |
|   94 | 83 5   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Vyara        |    5 | 60,58,800.00      |
|   95 | 83 4   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Vyara        |    9 | 1,10,88,000. 00   |
|   96 | 90 3   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Chhotaudepur |   10 | 68,12,300.00      |
|   97 | 94 9   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Narmada      |   25 | 1,56,20,000. 00   |
|   98 | 69 2   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Aravalli     |    7 | 54,50,500.00      |
|   99 | 91 4   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Chhotaudepur |   10 | 65,75,800.00      |
|  100 | 10 26  | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Dang-North   |   10 | 68,46,400.00      |
|  101 | 10 30  | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Dang-North   |   10 | 64,83,400.00      |
|  102 | 10 32  | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Dang-North   |   10 | 69,37,700.00      |
|  103 | 10 34  | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Dang-North   |   10 | 65,39,500.00      |
|  104 | 10 66  | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Valsad-North |   10 | 68,13,400.00      |
|  105 | 11 09  | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Valsad-South |   10 | 69,41,000.00      |
|  106 | 11 10  | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT   | Valsad-South |   10 | 65,26,300.00      |

|   107 | 11 19   | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd   | GUJARAT        | Valsad-South    |   10 | 66,69,300.00    |
|-------|---------|---------------------------------------|----------------|-----------------|------|-----------------|
|   108 | 18 82   | Northern Coalfields Limited           | MADHYA PRADESH | Damoh(T)        |   50 | 1,88,10,215. 60 |
|   109 | 18 40   | Northern Coalfields Limited           | MADHYA PRADESH | Damoh(T)        |   50 | 1,84,95,340. 60 |
|   110 | 40 9    | Northern Coalfields Limited           | MADHYA PRADESH | Rewa            |   40 | 2,44,74,298. 20 |
|   111 | 10 3    | Northern Coalfields Limited           | MADHYA PRADESH | Sidhi           |   50 | 2,90,97,136. 00 |
|   112 | 90      | Northern Coalfields Limited           | MADHYA PRADESH | West Chhindwada |   30 | 1,08,68,326. 00 |
|   113 | 91      | Northern Coalfields Limited           | MADHYA PRADESH | West Chhindwada |   20 | 84,17,504.00    |
|   114 | 14 4    | NTPC Limited                          | MADHYA PRADESH | Singrauli       |   30 | 1,67,16,481. 00 |
|   115 | 13 8    | NTPC Limited                          | MADHYA PRADESH | Singrauli       |   25 | 1,84,70,955. 00 |
|   116 | 13 2    | NTPC Limited                          | MADHYA PRADESH | Singrauli       |   30 | 1,45,12,552. 00 |
|   117 | 13 0    | NTPC Limited                          | MADHYA PRADESH | Singrauli       |   25 | 1,52,25,258. 00 |
|   118 | 95      | NTPC Limited                          | MADHYA PRADESH | Khargone        |   35 | 2,02,46,705. 92 |
|   119 | 87      | NTPC Limited                          | MADHYA PRADESH | Khargone        |   30 | 1,74,31,318. 80 |
|   120 | 13 36   | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED      | MADHYA PRADESH | North Betul     |   50 | 1,26,61,978. 00 |
|   121 | 21 1    | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED      | MADHYA PRADESH | Sidhi           |   25 | 1,58,22,393. 00 |
|   122 | 10 1    | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED      | MADHYA PRADESH | Sidhi           |   20 | 1,44,21,274. 00 |
|   123 | 13 96   | NTPC Limited                          | MAHARASH TRA   | East Nashik     |   20 | 2,05,65,221. 60 |
|   124 | 13 95   | NTPC Limited                          | MAHARASH TRA   | East Nashik     |   25 | 1,66,49,620. 00 |
|   125 | 13 94   | NTPC Limited                          | MAHARASH TRA   | East Nashik     |   15 | 2,13,86,158. 00 |
|   126 | 13 93   | NTPC Limited                          | MAHARASH TRA   | East Nashik     |   10 | 1,43,83,427. 00 |
|   127 | 13 91   | NTPC Limited                          | MAHARASH TRA   | East Nashik     |   10 | 1,15,85,874. 00 |
|   128 | 13 90   | NTPC Limited                          | MAHARASH TRA   | East Nashik     |   15 | 1,37,27,038. 00 |
|   129 | 13 89   | NTPC Limited                          | MAHARASH TRA   | East Nashik     |   25 | 2,07,87,963. 00 |
|   130 | 15      | NTPC Limited                          | MAHARASH TRA   | Bhandara        |    8 | 1,34,65,864. 44 |
|   131 | 13      | NTPC Limited                          | MAHARASH TRA   | Bhandara        |    8 | 1,30,13,708. 12 |

|   132 | 18    | NTPC Limited                | MAHARASH TRA   | Bhandara          |    7 | 1,31,20,252. 74   |
|-------|-------|-----------------------------|----------------|-------------------|------|-------------------|
|   133 | 17    | NTPC Limited                | MAHARASH TRA   | Bhandara          |  5   | 1,16,83,643. 30   |
|   134 | 16    | NTPC Limited                | MAHARASH TRA   | Bhandara          |  5   | 1,11,64,286. 42   |
|   135 | 11    | NTPC Limited                | MAHARASH TRA   | Bhandara          | 12   | 1,83,76,647. 38   |
|   136 | 8     | NTPC Limited                | MAHARASH TRA   | Bhandara          | 10   | 1,88,35,853. 82   |
|   137 | 21 89 | Western Coalfields Limited  | MAHARASH TRA   | Satara            | 30   | 2,19,41,088. 40   |
|   138 | 12 72 | Western Coalfields Limited  | MAHARASH TRA   | East Nashik       | 15   | 1,69,40,259. 60   |
|   139 | 22    | Western Coalfields Limited  | MAHARASH TRA   | Gondia            | 10   | 1,65,98,510. 50   |
|   140 | 23    | Western Coalfields Limited  | MAHARASH TRA   | Gondia            | 10   | 1,63,02,193. 60   |
|   141 | 10    | Western Coalfields Limited  | MAHARASH TRA   | Gondia            | 10   | 1,33,20,494. 00   |
|   142 | 28    | Western Coalfields Limited  | MAHARASH TRA   | Gondia            |  8   | 1,66,52,346. 70   |
|   143 | 27    | Western Coalfields Limited  | MAHARASH TRA   | Gondia            | 20   | 2,17,81,991. 00   |
|   144 | 19    | Western Coalfields Limited  | MAHARASH TRA   | Gondia            | 10   | 1,13,99,317. 60   |
|   145 | 21    | Western Coalfields Limited  | MAHARASH TRA   | Gondia            | 20   | 2,16,74,012. 80   |
|   146 | 35 1  | Western Coalfields Limited  | MAHARASH TRA   | Bhandara          | 10   | 1,59,29,554. 30   |
|   147 | 18 19 | MAHANADI COALFIELDS LIMITED | ODISHA         | Baripada          | 12.6 | 1,47,05,949. 50   |
|   148 | 45    | MAHANADI COALFIELDS LIMITED | ODISHA         | Baripada          | 10   | 1,52,25,501. 50   |
|   149 | 46    | MAHANADI COALFIELDS LIMITED | ODISHA         | Baripada          | 10   | 1,52,25,501. 50   |
|   150 | 67    | MAHANADI COALFIELDS LIMITED | ODISHA         | Jeypore           |  5   | 48,18,748.00      |
|   151 | 15 88 | MAHANADI COALFIELDS LIMITED | ODISHA         | Koraput           | 10   | 1,05,51,200. 00   |
|   152 | 59    | MAHANADI COALFIELDS LIMITED | ODISHA         | Sonepur           | 10   | 65,84,285.40      |
|   153 | 17 56 | NLC INDIA LIMITED           | ODISHA         | Athagarh Division |  7   | 70,35,645.00      |
|   154 | 17 57 | NLC INDIA LIMITED           | ODISHA         | Athagarh Division |  5   | 53,05,197.70      |
|   155 | 17 58 | NLC INDIA LIMITED           | ODISHA         | Athagarh Division |  8   | 78,38,331.60      |

| 156   | 17 86   | NLC INDIA LIMITED                | ODISHA        | Bonai                | 10       | 90,33,377.00       |
|-------|---------|----------------------------------|---------------|----------------------|----------|--------------------|
| 157   | 14 43   | NLC INDIA LIMITED                | ODISHA        | Ghumsur South        | 10       | 85,17,223.00       |
| 158   | 12 29   | NLC INDIA LIMITED                | ODISHA        | Rairakhol            | 10       | 80,23,414.00       |
| 159   | 39      | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ODISHA        | Angul                | 5        | 66,70,145.48       |
| 160   | 40      | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ODISHA        | Angul                | 5        | 68,77,029.46       |
| 161   | 58      | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ODISHA        | Kalahandi South      | 20       | 1,09,94,281. 61    |
| 162   | 36      | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ODISHA        | Baripada             | 15       | 1,73,07,683. 00    |
| 163   | 71      | OIL INDIA LIMITED                | ODISHA        | Keonjhar             | 20       | 1,16,03,841. 00    |
| 164   | 10 4    | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.      | RAJASTHA N    | Ajmer                | 49       | 1,56,83,846. 00    |
| 165   | 35 7    | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.      | RAJASTHA N    | Ajmer                | 50       | 1,58,39,121. 00    |
| 166   | 94 7    | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.      | RAJASTHA N    | Alwar                | 75       | 1,80,59,864. 00    |
| 167   | 29 9    | COAL INDIA LIMITED               | TELANGAN A    | Bhadradri Kothagudem | 50       | 3,34,95,233. 00    |
| 168   | 22 9    | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.      | TELANGAN A    | Bhadradri Kothagudem | 45       | 3,01,49,290. 00    |
| 169   | 29 0    | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.      | TELANGAN A    | Bhadradri Kothagudem | 50       | 3,28,25,328. 00    |
| 170   | 18 6    | NORTH EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED | TELANGAN A    | Khammam              | 10       | 1,19,29,899. 30    |
| 171   | 12 53   | Northern Coalfields Limited      | UTTAR PRADESH | Mirzapur             | 5.87     | 36,48,690.00       |
| 172   | 10 05   | NTPC Limited                     | UTTAR PRADESH | Sonbhadra            | 25       | 1,02,96,400. 00    |
|       |         |                                  |               | Total                | 3610.4 7 | 2,80,46,90,9 54.29 |

## F. No. HSM-12/24/2023-HSM(pt2)-Part(1), E-220847

## Government of India

## Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Hazardous Substances Management Division

3rd Floor, Prithvi Block Jor Bagh Road

Indira Paryavaran Bhawan New Delhi - 110003 Dated: 22nd February, 2024

## Office Memorandum

Subject: Modality for taking up Tree Plantation under Green Credit Programme - regarding

## 1. Introduction:

- 1.1 The Green Credit Rules have been notified by the Government of India on 12th October 2023 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The Green Credit Programme (GP) encourages industries, companies and other entities to meet their existing obligations or other obligations under any law for the time being in force, and encourage other persons and entities, to undertake voluntary environmental measures inter-alia "tree plantation", resulting in award of Green Credits.
- 1.2 To begin with, tree plantation may be undertaken on degraded land under the control and management of Forest Departments. In this regard, notification for Methodology for Tree Plantation based Green Credit has been published in official gazette.
- 1.3 In view of the above, the following modality, for taking up tree plantation on degraded forest land under the Green Credit Programme, is prescribed.

## 2. Modality:

## 2.1 Registration of Implementing Agency:

Forest Departments/ Forest Development Corporations of States and UTs applicant shall be the Implementing Agency (IA) for mplementing Tree Plantation based Green Credit Programme. A State Nodal officer (SNO) of the rank of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests/Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests) for the State/UT shall be appointed by each IA, who shall be responsible for overall coordination and monitoring of Tree Plantation based Green Credit Programme in the state/UT. Implementing Officer (IO). shall be registered by each IA for each Forest Division. Registration of lA, SNO and IO shall be done through

GCP Portal by providing details like name of State/UT, district, division, name of officer, designation, office address, bank account details, etc.

## 2.2 Criteria for selection of land:

## 2.2.1 Type of land:

Degraded land parcels under the control and management of Forest Department of the States and UTs shall be eligible for GCP. Only such land parcels and areas suitable for plantation, shall be registered as plantation block in the GCP Portal.

## 2.2.2 Density of tree plantation:

Plantation block with potential of planting minimum 1100 trees per hectare, taking into account on the local silvi-climatic and soil conditions, shall be selected for registration.

## 2.2.3 Size of plantation blocks:

Every plantation block shall be a compact area having a minimum size of 5 hectares.

## 2.2.4 Other conditions:

Plantation block shall be free from all types of encumbrances and plantation to be undertaken in line with management plan/working plan.

## 2.3 Registration of plantation block:

After selection of land for plantation as above, registration of plantation block shall be done through self-certification on the portal by the IA. Each plantation block shall be registered separately with unique ID.

## 2.4 Registration of Entity/ Green Credit Applicant (GCA):

Government Institutions (like PWD, CPWD, Irrigation department, etc.), Public Sector Undertakings (State and Central), Non-Government Organisations, Private Companies/Organisations/entities, Philanthropists, Individuals, Group of Individuals registered under Societies Registration Act will qualify as GCA under tree plantation based GCP. Registration of GCA shall be done by providing required details like name & address, proof of identity, contact details, registration details, etc. on the GCP portal.

## 2.5 Selection of land for the plantation by GCA:

Registered GAs desirous to apply for Green Credits (GCs) shall request for the allocation of land parcel for plantation from the plantation block registered on the portal.

## 2.6 Preparation of demand note:

Estimate in INR with provision for plantation and its maintenance (advance work in 1s1 year and maintenance till 10th year considering cost of escalation) shall be prepared as per Schedule of Rates by the concerned IO. All necessary provisions shall be made while preparing estimate to make the plantation successful.

Plantation estimate with details of Technical and Administrative sanction/approval and other necessary information shall be provided on GCP portal for scrutiny and approval of SNO. After approval of SNO, the Administrator will further scrutinize the estimate from technical point of view and by including administrative cost for monitoring and verification (10% of estimated cost) and a demand note will be generated on the portal (Mechanism of utilization of the administrative cost shall be developed by Administrator separately). Thereafter, entity shall make the payment in the bank account of the Administrator through NEFT/RTGS. After making payment, the lA shall formally allot land parcel/plantation block to the GCA. Preparation of estimate as well as payment shall be done within the

## 2.7 Plantation and its maintenance:

stipulated time as specified by the Administrator.

- .Plantation works shall be started immediately after receipt of payment from the entity. It shall be the responsibility of the lA to ensure completion of plantation within two years after receipt of payment. All details of plantation and maintenance works along with item-wise expenditure, as prescribed by the Administrator, shall be provided on the portal by IA and IO.

## 2.8 Issuance of Green Credits (GCs):

- As advance works are carried out and seedlings are sourced in the first year and plantation is carried out in the second year, Green Credits will be awarded two years after receipt of payment from the entity. GCs will be awarded to the entity by the Administrator based on total number of trees planted in selected blocks and plantation completion certificate generated online by IA. GCs will be allocated to the entity at the rate of one GC per tree in a standard format through the GCP portal.

## 3. Monitoring and Audit of Plantation:

- prescribed by the Administrator. Intensive monitoring by the field officers of the prescribed format on the portal to ensure that there is no violation of prevailing methodology, guidelines, rules, etc. under GCP. A monitoring committee of 3members under the chairmanship of 1O, including Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) and the entity/CA as its members shall be constituted. Monitoring committee shall submit half yearly monitoring reports on the GCP portal, as prescribed by the Administrator. Third party shall be engaged for independent monitoring. Separate guidelines shall be issued for accreditation/empanelment of verifiers for verification/monitoring of plantation. The GCP portal will track the
- Plantation records/details shall be maintained online in a standard format as Implementing Agency shall be carried out and reporting shall be done in a

progress and proper records shall be maintained in public domain.

## Accounting and audit:

Separate savings account in a nationalized bank for the Administrator, SNO, 10 and concerned Range Forest Officer shall be opened and maintained for Green Credit Programme. After receipt of payment from GCA, the Administrator will release the funds to SNO to complete the advance works of plantation. Subsequent release of fund to the SNO will be done in installments, as per the progress of the plantation work. Separate guidelines will be developed for fund flow mechanism, fund disbursement, financial and accounting procedures, record keeping process, auditing, etc.

## 5. Advantages of GCs:

- 5.1 The plantation taken under GCP, may be exchanged for compliance of Compensatory Afforestation (CA) in case of diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes under Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, as applicable.
- 5.2 GCs earned may be used for reporting under ESG leadership indicator or under CSR, as per applicable rules.

This issues with approval of theCompetent Authority.

1

(Nameeta Prasad)

Joint Secretary to Government of India Email: nameeta.prasad@gov.in Tel. No.: 011-20819324

## To,

The Chief Secretary, All State/UT Governments

## Copy to:

1. Sr. PPS to Secretary/PPS to DGF&SS/PPS to Addl. DGF(FC)
2. Principal Secretary (Forests), All States/UTs
3. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (HoFF), all State/UTs;
4. AS/JS, In-Charge GCP
5. DG, ICFRE
6. IGF, NAEB
7. PPS to CEO, NCAMPA/ADG (FC), MoEF&CC, New Delhi;
8. NIC, MoEF&CC with a request to upload a copy on MoEFCC website.

<!-- image -->

(Area in km2)

| SI. No   | State/ UTs                           |                                      | Notified               | RFA (in different categories)   | RFA (in different categories)   | RFA (in different categories)   | Total      | % of   |
|----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|------------|--------|
| SI. No   |                                      |                                      | Geographical Area (GA) | Reserve Forest                  | Protected Forest                | Unclassed Forests*              | RFA (2023) | GA     |
|          | Andhra Pradesh                       | Andhra Pradesh                       | 1,62,923               | 31,959                          | 5,069                           | 230                             | 37,258     | 22.87  |
|          | Arunachal Pradesh                    | Arunachal Pradesh                    | 83,743                 | 12,371                          | 11.857                          | 27,312                          | 51,540     | 61.55  |
|          | Assam                                | Assam                                | 78,438                 | 17,864                          | 0                               | 8,972                           | 26,836     | 34.21  |
|          | Bihar                                | Bihar                                | 94,163                 | 693                             | 6,183                           | 566                             | 7,442      | 7.90   |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                         | Chhattisgarh                         | 1,35,192               | 25,899                          | 24,554                          | 9,363                           | 59,816     | 44.25  |
|          | Delhi                                | Delhi                                | 1,483                  | 85                              | 13                              |                                 | 104        | 7.01   |
|          | Goa                                  | Goa                                  | 3,702                  | 119                             | 755                             | 397                             | 1,271      | 34.33  |
| 8        | Gujarat                              | Gujarat                              | 1,96,244               | 14,574                          | 2,898                           | 4,398                           | 21,870     | 11.14  |
|          | Haryana                              | Haryana                              | 44.212                 | 249                             | 1,158                           | 152                             | 1,559      | 3.53   |
| 10       | Himachal Pradesh                     | Himachal Pradesh                     | 55,673                 | 1,883                           | 28,887                          | 7,178                           | 37,948     | 68.16  |
| 11       | Jharkhand                            | Jharkhand                            | 79,716                 | 4,500                           | 18,922                          | 1,696                           | 25,118     | 31.51  |
| 12       | Karnataka                            | Karnataka                            | 1,91,791               | 28,690                          | 3,931                           | 5,663                           | 38,284     | 19.96  |
| 13       | Kerala                               | Kerala                               | 38,852                 | 11,522                          | 0                               |                                 | 11,522     | 29.66  |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh                       | Madhya Pradesh                       | 3,08,252               | 61,886                          | 31,098                          | 1,705                           | 94,689     | 30.72  |
| 15       | Maharashtra                          | Maharashtra                          | 3,07,713               | 50,865                          | 6,433                           | 4,654                           | 61,952     | 20.13  |
| 16       | Manipur                              | Manipur                              | 22,327                 | 1,926                           | 3,254                           | 12,238                          | 17,418     | 78.01  |
| 17       | Meghalaya                            | Meghalaya                            | 22,429                 | 1,125                           | 12                              | 8,371                           | 9,508      | 42.39  |
| 18       | Mizoram                              | Mizoram                              | 21,081                 | 4,499                           | 1,823                           | 1,157                           | 7,479      | 35.48  |
| 19       | Nagaland                             | Nagaland                             | 16,579                 | 234                             |                                 | 8,389                           | 8,632      | 52.07  |
| 20       | Odisha                               | Odisha                               | 1,55,707               | 36,049                          | 25,133                          | 22                              | 61,204     | 39.31  |
| 21       | Punjab                               | Punjab                               | 50,362                 | 44                              | 1,137                           | 1,903                           | 3,084      | 6.12   |
| 22       | Rajasthan                            | Rajasthan                            | 3,42,239               | 12,176                          | 18,588                          | 2,105                           | 32,869     | 9.60   |
| 23       | Sikkim                               | Sikkim                               | 7,096                  | 5,452                           | 389                             | 0                               | 5,841      | 82.31  |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu                           | Tamil Nadu                           | 1,30,060               | 20,523                          | 1,053                           | 1,612                           | 23,188     | 17.83  |
| 25       | Telangana                            | Telangana                            | 1,12,122               | 25,800                          | 1,592                           | 296                             | 27,688     | 24.69  |
| 26       | Tripura                              | Tripura                              | 10,486                 | *3,588                          | 2                               | 2,705                           | 6,295      | 60.03  |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh**                      | Uttar Pradesh**                      | 2.40.928               | 11,571                          | 330                             | 5,534                           | 17,435     | 7.24   |
| 28       | Uttarakhand                          | Uttarakhand                          | 53,483                 | 26,547                          | 9,885                           | 1,568                           | 38,000     | 71.05  |
| 29       | West Bengal                          | West Bengal                          | 88,752                 | 7,054                           | 3,778                           | 1,053                           | 11.885     | 13.39  |
| 30       | A & N Islands                        | A & N Islands                        | 8,249                  | 5,613                           | 1,558                           |                                 | 7,171      | 86.93  |
| 31       | Chandigarh                           | Chandigarh                           | 114                    | 32                              |                                 | 3                               | 35         | 30.70  |
| 32       | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 602                    | 206                             |                                 |                                 | 217        | 36.05  |
| 33       | Jammu & Kashmir                      | Shapefile Area*** (54,633)           |                        | 17,648                          | 2,551                           |                                 | 20,199     | 9.09   |
| 34       | Ladakh                               | Shapefile Area*** (1,68,055)         | 2,22,236               | 7                               |                                 | 0                               |            |        |
| 35       | Lakshadweep                          | Lakshadweep                          | 30                     | 0                               |                                 |                                 |            |        |
| 36       | Puducherry                           | Puducherry                           | 490                    |                                 |                                 | 11                              | 13         | 2.65   |
| Total    | Total                                | Total                                | 32,87,469              | 4,43,253                        | 2,12,859                        | 1,19,265                        | 7,75,377   | 23.59  |

Source: State / UTs Forest Departments

* Unclassed Forest includes all forest other than Reserve Forest and Protected Forest as reported by State / UTs Forest Departments.

** In case of Uttar Pradesh, the RA excludes 9,662.76 km of linear plantations along Road, Railway line and Canal.

*** Area of shape file provided by Survey of India (August 2021).