Afforestation in Assam: Green Claims, Dry Truths
Despite spending over ₹420 crore on afforestation projects in Assam, forest cover continues to decline, raising questions about transparency, effectiveness, and the true survival rate of plantations. A critical look, adapted from The Assam Tribune report by Rituraj Borthakur.
An adoption of an article by Rituraj Borthakur, originally published in The Assam Tribune on the afforestation in Assam and its dark truth.
In Assam, where the mighty Brahmaputra winds its way through ancient forests and tribal heartlands, a disquieting tale is beginning to unfold. While multiple agencies have been sounding the alarm bells over the dwindling forest cover, the Forest Department has, rather curiously, a more optimistic account to offer – one rooted in the language of targets, hectares, and crores. But as the old saying goes, “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”
Between 2011-12 and 2023-24, the Assam government spent a whopping ₹266.28 crore under the State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA). This initiative, intended to offset forest land diverted for non-forest uses, claimed to create plantations on nearly 15,869 hectares of land. On paper, the survival rate of these plantations hovers between 65 and 75 per cent – not too shabby at first glance.
But scratch beneath the surface, and things begin to smell a bit fishy. Even using the Department’s own figures, nearly one-third of this eye-watering sum – over ₹88 crore – might well have been flushed down the drain. And if the estimations have been massaged or rely too heavily on “ocular observations” (as the Forest Department candidly admits), the true survival rate could be worse than imagined.
A reply to an RTI query filed by advocate Nayana Moni Hazarika revealed that the Department does carry out routine monitoring, with senior officials occasionally popping in for a peek. Additionally, third-party evaluations have supposedly been conducted. But the fact remains – despite all these efforts and the tidy sums being thrown about – the state’s forest cover continues to slip through its fingers like sand.
Under the Assam Project on Forest & Biodiversity Conservation Society (Phase I and II), plantations were said to have been carried out over 33,337 hectares of land between 2013-14 and 2024-25, at a combined cost of over ₹156 crore. The Department estimates an average 70 per cent survival rate for firewood plantations – though, by its own admission, this rate “varies widely” across the state. Again, no clear methodology; just “ocular estimations.” A bit like throwing darts in the dark and hoping to hit the bullseye.
Meanwhile, hard data from national and global reports paints a more sobering picture. According to the India State of Forest Report 2023, Assam lost 83.92 square kilometres of forest cover between 2021 and 2023. Global Forest Watch goes further back, revealing that the state has lost 324,000 hectares of tree cover since 2001 – a staggering 12 per cent decline.
One begins to wonder: is this a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul? Or are these afforestation drives more of a box-ticking exercise, giving the illusion of progress while the green lungs of the Northeast slowly wither?
The irony couldn’t be more stark. Despite tens of crores being spent and thousands of hectares being “greened,” Assam is visibly less forested than it was a decade ago. It’s a bit like watching someone plug holes in a leaky boat with paper towels – it looks like effort, but the ship’s still sinking.
Until there’s greater transparency, accountability, and an honest reckoning of outcomes – not just targets – the state’s afforestation initiatives risk becoming an expensive charade. One that Assam, with its rich biodiversity and fragile ecosystems, simply cannot afford.
Credit: Original reporting by Rituraj Borthakur | Published in The Assam Tribune.
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