Guwahati, Aug. 17 -- Only about 2% of the targeted increase in forest cover under the Green India Mission (GIM) was achieved over 10 years, according to a performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

The finding has exposed a wide gap between plantation and restoration targets and actual gains in forest cover in the country, including Assam and the Northeast.

The CAG report, tabled in Parliament around August 12, assessed the mission's implementation from 2015-16 to 2024-25. Against a target of 1.4 million hectares (mha) for increasing forest cover, only 0.03409 mha was observed, leaving a shortfall of 97.57%.

The performance was similarly poor in improving the quality of forest cover. Against a target of 1....