The Green Credit Programme is an innovative mechanism to incentivize environmentally positive actions and to promote the LIFE (Lifestyle for Environment) movement, which aims at encouraging sustainable lifestyles by driving community towards behavioural changes that support environment friendly actions. 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 issuance of Green Credits. Under the Green Credit Programme, the modality for tree plantation and eco-restoration of degraded forest lands has been notified on 22nd February 2024 and subsequently revised on 29th August 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 responsible for the effective implementation of the Green Credit Programme, including its management, operation and issuance of green credits under these rules.

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 Green Credit Programme.

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 minimum five years of restoration work have 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 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 produce, fodder, water, and other ecosystem services.

State-wise area of degraded forest area selected under the Green Credit Program for eco-restoration:

Sl. No.	State	Area (in ha)
1	Assam	454
2	Bihar	460
3	Chhattisgarh	536
4	Goa	5
5	Gujarat	975
6	Jharkhand	302
7	Madhya Pradesh	640
8	Maharashtra	335
9	Odisha	257
10	Rajasthan	175
11	Telangana	155
12	Uttar Pradesh	97
Total		4391

 

This information was provided by UNION MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE, SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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VM/GS/SK
(Lok Sabha US Q3844)

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