✎ Green India Mission failed to meet 98% of forest cover targets due to poor planning, financial mismanagement, and weak monitoring.

Relevance for Banking, SSC & RBI Grade B exams: Polity & Governance

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged severe shortcomings in the Green India Mission (GIM), a flagship government program aimed at enhancing forest cover and ecosystem services. According to the CAG’s performance audit report tabled in Parliament, the mission achieved just 2% of its target forest cover increase over a decade (2015-16 to 2024-25), with improvements observed in only 0.03 million hectares against a target of 1.4 million hectares—a 98% shortfall. The audit highlighted systemic failures, including poor planning, financial mismanagement, lack of coordination among schemes, and deficient monitoring, which undermined the mission’s objectives of combating climate change, improving biodiversity, and supporting forest-based livelihoods. Notably, the CAG also pointed out that vulnerable areas were neglected in favor of less critical landscapes, and 70% of sampled sites showed no tangible changes due to GIM interventions.

For aspirants preparing for Bank PO, IBPS, SBI, RBI Grade B, and SSC exams, this report underscores the importance of governance, accountability, and environmental policy in public administration. Questions on the role of constitutional bodies like the CAG, challenges in climate action, and the effectiveness of centrally sponsored schemes are likely to feature in exams. The audit also highlights the need for better financial oversight and inter-departmental coordination, which are critical topics in banking and governance sections. Additionally, the emphasis on data integrity and transparency in government programs aligns with the syllabus’s focus on ethical governance and sustainable development, making it a relevant case study for aspirants aiming to test their understanding of real-world policy implementation.

Source: Times of India

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