CB BureauWhile hundreds of ‘symbolic’ activities are marking the World Environment day across the country, CauseBecause dug out a news story that brings to light the fact that India’s Green Mission, one of eight such plans under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), is yet to see light. Green Mission is the country’s only focused plan to fight climate change wherein the idea is to enhance the forest cover. In 2011, the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change had cleared Rs 46,000 crore to be spent to increase forest cover by five million hectares and improve the quality of forests on another five million hectares till 2020. ‘The Green India Mission has stopped as there are no funds coming,’ V Rajagopalan, secretary, environment ministry had told IANS. Rajagopalan confirmed that at the time of the mission’s announcement, it was decided that funds will come from a number of ministries and the Planning Commission. About Rs 2,000 crore alone was to come under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) from the rural development ministry, some money was to come under the National Environment Fund, but we have got nothing in the last two years.’ The stuck mission is adversely affecting the afforestation drive and the environment ministry will now go to the cabinet with a request to form a formal funding structure to get the Green Mission on the track. Apart from increasing the forest cover, the mission shall focus on improving ecosystem services, including biodiversity, hydrological services and carbon sequestration, and aims to increase forest-based livelihood income for over three million forest-dependent families. The ultimate aim of the mission is to take the forest cover to 33 percent – 100 million hectares – from the existing 23 per cent – 70 million hectares. However, while there was no formal funding structure, the mission had no set timeline either. The mission was supposed to be implemented through an autonomous organisational structure to reduce red-tape and rigidity and would have ensured accountability. After implementation, the mission would have also helped in monitoring ground cover, soil condition, erosion and infiltration as well as groundwater levels. So far, all this and more is on papers and the environment ministry’s coffers do not have enough dough to put it in action.
