₹420 Crore Afforestation Drive Yields Only 65–75% Tree Survival Rate in State
Why in News?
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Despite large-scale government expenditure on afforestation, Assam continues to lose forest cover significantly. Concerns raised over the efficiency and transparency of the afforestation initiatives. Highlights the gap between reported afforestation activities and actual forest regeneration, raising questions about accountability and impact.
Important Key Points:
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Afforestation Spending:
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Over Rs 420 crore spent on afforestation in Assam over the last 10 years.
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Rs 26,628.24 lakh (Rs 266.28 crore) spent under CAMPA (2011-12 to 2023-24).
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Plantations under CAMPA covered 15,868.93 hectares with an official survival rate of 65-75%.
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Monitoring & Evaluation:
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Monitoring is done by senior officials and third-party evaluators.
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Survival rate is often estimated visually (ocular estimation).
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Assam Project on Forest & Biodiversity Conservation:
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Plantations created on 33,337 hectares (2013-14 to 2024-25).
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Rs 41.82 crore spent in Phase I, Rs 114.89 crore in Phase II.
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Average survival rate of firewood plantations around 70%.
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Forest Cover Loss Despite Efforts:
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Assam lost 83.92 sq km of forest cover between 2021 and 2023 (ISFR 2023).
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Global Forest Watch data shows 324,000 hectares of tree cover lost from 2001 to 2023 (12% decrease since 2000).
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