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Define terms for using degraded forest land for compensatory afforestation: Ministry tells states
The union environment ministry has set guidelines for afforestation on degraded lands to support compensatory afforestation for industry projects, promoting carbon neutrality.
The union environment ministry has written to states and UTs specifying terms and conditions for afforestation on degraded forest land to meet the requirement of compensatory afforestation for various industry projects.
This follows the ministry’s August 29 notification on a revised methodology for the Green Credit Programme and August 31 notification on Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Amendment Rules, 2025 which make significant amendments to the forest conservation rules 2023. Both notifications facilitate use of degraded forests for compensatory afforestation and issuance of green credits.
Compensatory Afforestation involves making up for diversion of forest land for infrastructure projects by planting trees over an equivalent area of non-forest land or double the area when non-forest land is not available and it is instead taken up on degraded forests.
Green credits are incentives awarded to individuals and organizations for undertaking environmentally positive actions, such as tree plantations. These credits are tradable on a domestic market platform.
The letter sent to states and UTs earlier this month explains the logic of using degraded forests. It states that forests play a pivotal role in India achieving its Net Zero Emission target by 2070. India has set itself the Nationally Determined Contribution targets (NDCs) of creating a carbon sink of additional 2.5 to 3.0 billion tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030 and expanding forest and tree cover to one-third of its land area.
“Accordingly, it is essential to establish provisions for the conservation, management, and restoration of forests that uphold ecological security, cultural and traditional values, and support the country’s carbon neutrality goals,” the letter states.`
The ministry has also acknowledged that as per the assessment of the Forest Survey of India, the forest area under open and scrub category is 348,789 sq km, which is 10.61% of the total geographical area of the country. Between 2011 and 2021, an area of 40,709 sq km of very dense forest and medium dense forest within the recorded forest area, degraded to the open forest category, while an area of 5,573 sq km degraded to the scrub category. “Therefore, there is an urgent need to restore and rehabilitate these degraded forest lands,” it stated.
The strategies suggested in the National Forest Policy to achieve the goal of bringing one-third of the total geographical area of the country under forest and tree cover include a massive need-based and time-bound programme of afforestation and tree planting, with particular emphasis on fuelwood and fodder development, on all degraded and denuded land.
Accordingly, the letter specifies that degraded forest land of a minimum size of 5 ha, which have undergone afforestation and restoration for a minimum of five years, and have attained a canopy density of at least 40%, and have been awarded with Green Credits, shall be eligible for exchange under Compensatory Afforestation in favour of concerned Green Credit Applicant (GCA).
Afforestation activities undertaken on degraded forest lands shall use a mixture of indigenous species based on site suitability. The user agency must have cumulatively restored a minimum of 25 hectares of degraded forest lands.
Degraded forest land as identified by the respective states/ UTs that are recorded as forests in government records and are under the control and management of the state/ UT forest department, and are afforested and restored under Green Credit Programme (GCP) as per the criteria laid down in this regard, shall be eligible for exchange under Compensatory Afforestation (CA) as per the provisions of these guidelines, the ministry’s letter added.
HT reported on July 4 that a review of affidavits filed by petitioners in SC and the Centre in an application challenging the constitutionality of the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 202, shows conflict over whether unclassed and degraded forests which ideally should have been recognised as per their dictionary meaning, under the TN Godavarman judgement, should be utilised for compensatory afforestation.
The Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 make way for taking up compensatory afforestation in degraded and unclassed forests especially in view of paucity of land in the country. Compensatory afforestation is an obligation for industries, infrastructure projects to plant trees on non-forest land to offset the loss of forest land.
Petitioners , including several retired forest department officials filed an affidavit in April flagging that various instances of compensatory afforestation are being permitted on notified forests that are degraded, or on forest land such as revenue forests, and other unclassed forests by the Centre that are statutorily protected under the TN Godavarman judgement dated December 12, 1996.
Focus on critical minerals
There is also a special dispensation for mining of critical minerals in this regard.
For projects related to central government agencies, central public sector undertakings (CPSUs), captive coal blocks of state PSUs, transmission line projects, mining of critical and strategic minerals as specified in Part-D of the first schedule of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957; minerals specified by the ministry of mines out of the list of minerals included in the seventh schedule of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957; and the prescribed substances under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, the user agency shall be eligible to exchange forest land restored under GCP for the purpose of compensatory afforestation, provided restored forest land to be exchanged shall be twice the area proposed for diversion.
