Centre Identifies Degraded Forest Land for Green Credit Restoration

According to the release, the Green Credit Programme aims to increase green cover, enhance carbon sequestration, restore degraded lands and reduce carbon footprint through the adoption of environment-friendly technologies and practices.

The Central Government has notified Green Credit Rules, 2023 on 12th October 2023 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to encourage voluntary environmental positive actions resulting in the issuance of Green Credits. Under the Green Credit Programme, the modality for tree plantation and eco-restoration of degraded forest lands was notified on February 22, 2024 and subsequently revised on August 29, 2025.

A Green Credit Programme Portal (https://moefcc-gep.in/) has been developed for the purpose.

The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun, is the Administrator under the Green Credit Programme and is responsible for the effective implementation of the Green Credit Programme, including its management, operation and issuance of green credits under these rules, as stated in the release.

The Green Credit Programme aims to restore degraded forest lands through the active participation of public and private sector entities. The degraded forest and parcels proposed to be taken up under the Green Credit Programme are elected and registered by the State Forest Department after due verification on the ground.

The land parcels selected under Green Credit Programme are verified by the Divisional Nodal Officer (DNO) and State Nodal Officer (SNO) to ensure that the degraded forest land parcels are neither taken up under existing plantation nor earmarked for afforestation under any other scheme, including compensatory afforestation, so as to prevent double counting under the Green Credit Programme, according to the release.

Afforestation activities undertaken on such degraded forest lands are required to use a mixture of indigenous species based on site suitability. The Green credits can be claimed by an applicant only after a minimum of five years of restoration work has been completed, and a minimum canopy density of forty per cent has been achieved. A five-year establishment period is prescribed to allow the planted seedlings and natural regenerations to mature and develop adequate canopy cover, so as to achieve the prescribed 40 per cent canopy density, corresponding to a moderately dense forest.

The 'designated agency' designated under the Green Credit Programme shall conduct verification of the claim for the Green Credits and submit a report to the Administrator as regard to the verification of the activities undertaken by an applicant for issuance of green credit.

The forest lands restored under GCP can be exchanged for meeting Compensatory Afforestation requirements under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) adhiniyam, 1980, its rules and guidelines thereunder.

The forest restoration activities undertaken under the programme aim to enhance biodiversity and improve the productivity of forest resources. The restoration of degraded forest lands aims to benefit local communities by increasing the availability of timber, non-timber forest products, fodder, water, and other ecosystem services.

According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) release, the Central Government has identified several thousand hectares of degraded forest land across various states for eco-restoration under the innovative Green Credit Program (GCP).

Data released by the Ministry shows that Gujarat leads the list with the highest selected area of 975 hectares, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 640 hectares and Chhattisgarh with 536 hectares. Other prominent states included in the program are Bihar (460 ha), Assam (454 ha), and Maharashtra (335 ha).

- ANI