The Centre on Friday approved a ₹3,000-crore scheme to conserve and restore nearly 15,000 sacred groves across the country over the next five years and extended the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) programme till 2029 with an additional allocation of ₹500 crore.
File Photo: IANS
The Centre on Friday approved a ₹3,000-crore scheme to conserve and restore nearly 15,000 sacred groves across the country over the next five years and extended the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) programme till 2029 with an additional allocation of ₹500 crore.
The decisions were taken at the seventh meeting of the Governing Body of the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), chaired by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav in Coimbatore.
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The Governing Body approved the Aastha Van Sanrakshan Yojana, which will be implemented from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with an initial corpus of ₹3,000 crore. The scheme aims to protect and restore around 15,000 sacred groves, known as Aastha Vans, across the country.
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It also cleared a new landscape restoration programme to address land degradation and biodiversity loss, which will be funded through the National CAMPA Fund.
The body approved a revised outlay for the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI), extending the programme by three years till 2029. With an additional ₹500 crore, the total allocation under the scheme will rise to ₹600 crore. According to the Environment Ministry, ₹88.40 crore has so far been released for mangrove plantation and restoration in six States and Union Territories.
The meeting also approved a series of wildlife conservation projects, including studies for the conservation and recovery of river dolphins, the second phase of Project Snow Leopard with a fresh population estimation, a conservation action plan for the Indian rhinoceros, and a nationwide strategy for conserving the wild water buffalo. Continued financial support for the conservation of Manipur’s brow-antlered deer, or Sangai, was also approved.
The Governing Body reviewed the progress of compensatory afforestation and Net Present Value (NPV) works undertaken by States and Union Territories, along with the utilisation of CAMPA funds during 2025-26. It also noted that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had given a “true and fair” view of the National CAMPA’s accounts for 2024-25.
The ministry said CAMPA has digitised key processes through the Digital Annual Plan of Operations system for 2026-27, requiring States and Union Territories to submit afforestation plans through a workflow-based online platform. It is also setting up a GIS-based monitoring system to track plantations and other CAMPA-funded activities using satellite imagery and field verification.
Officials informed the Governing Body that 652 urban forests and green spaces have been developed under the Nagar Van Yojana with central assistance of ₹571.50 crore. In addition, ₹7.28 crore has been released to the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education under the Green Credit Scheme to support plantation activities.
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