Last reviewed: October 2026. Eligibility and funding change often; check with the ministry or your state forest or agriculture department before you apply.
Schemes at a glance
-
Green India Mission: one of the national missions under India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, run by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). It funds forest and tree cover increase and ecosystem restoration through state forest departments.
-
Nagar Van Yojana (urban forests): launched by MoEFCC on World Environment Day, 5 June 2020, to create urban forests ("Nagar Vans") and smaller urban gardens in and around cities, with funding through the national CAMPA fund.
-
Compensatory afforestation (CAMPA): under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016, money paid when forest land is diverted for projects is used for compensatory afforestation and related forest work by states.
-
Green Credit Programme: notified under the Green Credit Rules on 12 October 2023. Companies can fund tree plantation on degraded land identified by state forest departments and earn green credits once the restoration is verified. Credits can be counted towards CSR or ESG obligations. The rules have been revised since launch, so check the current version.
-
National Bamboo Mission: restructured in April 2018 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to support bamboo nurseries, plantation, processing and marketing. See bamboo plantation for CSR and carbon.
-
Agroforestry support: the Sub-Mission on Agroforestry, launched in 2016–17, supported planting material and nurseries for trees on farms. Current support runs through state agriculture departments, so ask them what is available.
-
MGNREGA: plantation and horticulture works on public land and on eligible households' own land can be taken up under the rural employment guarantee scheme, through the gram panchayat.
-
Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam: a national campaign launched on World Environment Day, 5 June 2024, encouraging everyone to plant a tree in their mother's name.
Many states also run their own plantation campaigns, usually during the monsoon. Check your state forest department's website.
Which scheme fits you
-
Farmers: MGNREGA works on your land, bamboo and agroforestry support from the state agriculture department, and company-funded programmes such as agroforestry for farmers, where you keep the fruit and timber income.
-
Cities and local bodies: Nagar Van Yojana, state urban greening programmes, and partnerships with companies for Miyawaki forests and urban forests.
-
Companies: the Green Credit Programme, and CSR plantation projects under Schedule VII. See CSR rules for tree plantation.
-
Companies with legal plantation obligations: plantation required by environmental clearances or forest diversion is a legal obligation, not CSR. See government mandates.
How companies can work alongside government schemes
- Fund plantation on degraded public land through the Green Credit Programme, with the state forest department.
- Partner with municipal bodies on urban forests and green belts.
- Support farmers to plant trees on their land, alongside the support they get from state schemes.
- Keep CSR, green-credit and carbon claims separate. The same trees should not be counted twice.
How Grow Billion Trees can help
We run plantation programmes for companies across 14 states, with farmers, communities and local bodies: agroforestry, Miyawaki and urban forests, mangrove restoration and bamboo. Every tree is geo-tagged and tracked on GreenTrack, and 85% of trees survive across our programmes. Talk to our team.
Official sources
