Guwahati: While multiple agencies have raised alarms over Assam’s shrinking forest cover, the state’s Forest Department presents a contrasting narrative regarding its afforestation efforts.
According to a report by the Assam Tribune, the department spent more than Rs 420 crore on afforestation projects over the past decade.
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However, even after accounting for survival rates, nearly a third of that expenditure may have gone to waste.
Between 2011-12 and 2013-14 alone, the department used Rs 266.28 crore under the State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) to create and maintain plantations.
CAMPA is intended to compensate for forest land diverted to non-forest use through afforestation and ecological restoration.
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In response to an RTI filed by advocate Nayana Moni Hazarika, the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) confirmed that these plantations covered 15,868.93 hectares, with a survival rate reportedly between 65% and 75%.
The PCCF’s office stated that senior officials regularly monitor plantation survival rates and conduct third-party evaluations to ensure transparency.
From 2013-14 to 2024-25, the Forest Department claims to have expanded plantations to 33,337 hectares under the Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Society (Phase I and Phase II).
Phase I consumed Rs 41.82 crore, while Phase II utilized Rs 114.89 crore, according to the department.
Officials estimated an average survival rate of 70% for firewood plantations, though they admitted to significant variation across regions.
Notably, many of these assessments relied on ocular estimation rather than precise data.
Despite these large-scale initiatives, the overall green cover in Assam continues to decline. The India State of Forest Report 2023, released last December, revealed that the state lost 83.92 sq km of forest cover between 2021 and 2023.
Global Forest Watch data echoed this trend, reporting that Assam lost 324,000 hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2023, an overall 12% decline since 2000.