India's Green Mission in Crisis: Audit Reveals 98% Forest Cover Shortfall

India's ambitious Green India Mission (GIM), a cornerstone of its climate strategy, has stumbled badly, with a recent Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report revealing a staggering 97.57% shortfall in forest cover increase and a 91.87% shortfall in forest quality improvement over the past decade. Tabled in Parliament on August 13, 2026, the audit's findings raise serious questions about India's ability to meet its global climate commitments, particularly its carbon sink targets. The federal auditor pinpointed several critical failures, including chronic underfunding, poor planning, and a glaring lack of 'convergence' – meaning GIM operated in silos without effective coordination with other vital afforestation schemes like CAMPA and MGNREGS. The audit, which examined GIM interventions across 16 states and Union Territories from 2015-16 to 2024-25, found that the mission received less than half of its proposed budgetary support, hindering its ability to achieve targets and even identifying 'ghost' plantations in some cases. This breakdown in execution directly threatens India's pledge under the Paris Agreement to create a significant additional carbon sink by 2030. Looking ahead, the government faces immense pressure to either drastically restructure GIM funding and implementation or reassess its Nationally Determined Contribution. While newer initiatives like 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' are being highlighted for sapling plantations, experts warn that merely counting trees isn't the same as restoring complex forest ecosystems, a crucial distinction highlighted by the India State of Forest Report 2023. The CAG damning report signals an urgent need for robust accountability, transparent monitoring, and a coherent strategy to genuinely green India, rather than just on paper.