The GCP is a national initiative by MoEFCC, Government of India, to promote environment-friendly actions by awarding Green Credits for verified positive environmental activities.

To encourage citizens and organisations to take measurable actions for environmental protection and sustainability.

The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) acts as the Administrator under Rule 7 of the Green Credit Rules, 2023.

No. Carbon Credit focuses only on reducing or removing greenhouse gas emissions (mainly CO₂), while Green Credit covers a broader range of environmental activities — such as tree plantation, water conservation, waste management, and pollution reduction — that improve overall ecological health.

Tree Plantation

Water Management

Sustainable Agriculture

Waste Management

Air Pollution Reduction

Mangrove Conservation and Restoration

Ecomark Label Development

Sustainable Building and Infrastructure

Currently, tree plantation cum eco-restoration on degraded forest land is under operation.

A GCA is any entity, individual, company, PSU, or organisation that registers under the Green Credit Programme to undertake approved environmental activities such as tree plantation, water conservation, or waste management for earning Green Credits.

Entities can register online through the official GCP portal handled by ICFRE which will be scrutinized and approved by the Administrator.

The State Nodal officer (SNO) of the rank of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests/Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, designated by the State/UT.

He is responsible for overall coordination and monitoring of restoration of degraded forest lands under the Green Credit Programme including verifying the eco-restoration blocks uploaded by DNOs and forwarding them to the Administrator, approving Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) received from District Nodal Officers (DNOs). The SNO ensures that all approvals adhere to the Green Credit Rules, 2023, and the modalities issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

The Divisional Forest Officer / Deputy Conservator of Forests in each forest division shall act as the Divisional Nodal Officer (DNO).

The DNO is responsible for facilitating the activities being undertaken by the Green Credit Applicant (GCA) under the Green Credit Programme, which includes:

The DNO identifies and uploads the degraded land suitable for restoration under GCP in the GCP portal, along with the required details

DNO will conduct joint inspection of the selected land parcel and provide technical inputs to the DPR preparation

DNO facilitate the Green Credit Applicant (GCA) to get access to the land, monitors the restoration activities and takes over plantation maintenance for the remaining period after issuance of GCs.

Degraded forest land parcels under the control and management of the State/UT Forest Department, uploaded on the Green Credit Portal, are eligible for GCP. These may lie within Working Circles or prescribed restoration areas, but protected areas like Wildlife Sanctuaries, National Parks, and Tiger Reserves are not eligible.

Each degraded forest land parcel under GCP shall be a compact area of at least 5 hectares, free from all encumbrances.

Under the Green Credit Programme, restoration includes plantation and forest restoration activities as per the approved Detailed Project Report (DPR). These may include soil and moisture conservation, fencing, assisted natural regeneration, removal of invasive species, fire prevention, temporary nurseries and any other site-specific requirements.

The Divisional Nodal Officer (DNO) shall identify eligible degraded forest land parcels after ground verification and upload their details, including the respective KML file, on the GCP Portal.

Each land parcel must include area, geotagged photographs, .kml file, existing canopy density, soil condition, forest type, existing flora and fauna, geological and hydrological conditions, slope, and terrain.

Difference between the area mentioned in the form and the area in the .kml file

The .kml file contains shapes other than polygon

The area of the polygon is less than 5ha

Uploading Non-Geo-tagged photos

Having more than one polygon in a .kml file

Lack of details about edaphic, topographic and hydrological characteristics

Google Earth image verification shows dense vegetation, encroachment, agriculture and existing/old plantation evidence

The State Nodal Officer (SNO) must verify the land parcel within 10 days of receiving it from the District Nodal Officer (DNO), and in case of rejection, the decision must be conveyed within 15 days.

As per the new modalities, the Green Credit Applicant (GCA)/ entity will be responsible for carrying out the eco-restoration activities on the selected degraded forest land parcels.

The entire project cost - including plantation, soil and moisture works, protection, verification, and maintenance - is borne by the GCA.

GCA/ entity needs to prepare the DPRs in consultation with DNOs.

The DNO must review and forward the DPR to the SNO with comments within 15 days of receipt; otherwise, it is deemed approved and auto-forwarded to the SNO.

The State Nodal Officer (SNO) must examine and approve or revise the Detailed Project Report (DPR) within 15 days from the date of receiving it from the DNO.

The GCA must pay 10% of the DPR project cost as administrative expenses through the GCP Portal, which will be equally shared between GCP Administrator and SFDs.

Yes. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be entered upon between the State/UT and the GCA in the prescribed format.

The MoU builds a partnership between the State Forest Department and the GCA to restore degraded forest land under the Green Credit Programme.

The MoU applies only to the specific degraded forest land mentioned in the DPR — identified by parcel number, location, and area.

No. The MoU does not give the GCA any ownership, lease, or usage rights over the land or its produce. All rights remain with the State or UT Forest Department.

In such cases, the SNO will hear both parties and make the final decision. The SNO's decision is final and will be communicated in writing to the Administrator for the record.

The DNO, with approval of the competent authority, can end the MoU if the GCA fails to start work, delays the DPR, does not submit reports, violates laws or guidelines, does not pay required costs, or misuses the site. It can also be ended if the land is needed for a public purpose.

The administrative fees paid by GCA will be forfeited.

No reimbursement will be made for any expenditure incurred.

No Green Credits will be issued to the GCA.

The verified expenditure incurred by the GCA will be reimbursed, as decided by the Administrator.

Yes. The GCA can withdraw by giving two months' written notice to the DNO. In that case, the administrative fees already paid are forfeited, and no Green Credits will be issued.

The GCA must confirm that all details in the DPR are correct, agree to follow the Green Credit Rules, provide manpower and funds, deposit maintenance money before Green Credits are issued, meet yearly survival and canopy targets, submit regular progress reports, and not use the land for any commercial activity.

Yes. Suppose a project is affected by any Force Majeure events, such as floods, droughts, or government restrictions, etc. In that case, the SNO can approve necessary modifications to the DPR, based on DNO's recommendation and the Administrator's approval.

The GCA must upload a progress report every 6 months in the specified format laid down by the administrator on the forest restoration activities undertaken as per the approved DPR.

Disputes should first be settled amicably; if unresolved, they shall be referred to an officer not below the rank of Conservator of Forests authorised by the State Government, whose decision is final.

Monitoring covers canopy density, tree survival and growth, soil and moisture conservation impact, biodiversity, protection, maintenance, and expenditure.

After 5 years of restoration work and when canopy density reaches at least 40 percent, the GCA can submit the claim for Green Credits to the Administrator.

The GCP administrator will assess and verify the restored land parcel by deploying a designated agency within a period of 60 days from the date of payment of verification fees by the GCA. The GCP administrator will issue the GCs to the GCA within 2 months of submission of the verification report by the designated agency and payment of maintenance costs for the remaining period by the GCA.

The cost for verification of the restoration activities for the calculation of GCs will be paid by GCA as prescribed by the administrator.

The DNO shall be responsible for the maintenance of the land parcel for the remaining period, post issuance of the Green Credits.

The maintenance will continue till the end of the tenth year of restoration.

The GCA shall deposit the maintenance cost for the remaining period as detailed in the DPR with the administrator.

The Green Credits generated under the Green Credit Programme may be exchanged once, for one of the following purposes:

Compensatory afforestation under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.

Requirements under Corporate Social Responsibility, as per the provisions of any law for the time being in force

Requirement of plantation of trees to fulfil the obligations such as towards exploration/survey or for construction of infrastructure projects in compliance of the approval of the project being undertaken.

The Green Credit generated in lieu of tree plantation under the said Rules may be used for reporting under environmental, social and governance leadership indicator as per the provisions of any law for the time being in force.

The Green Credits issued for tree plantation under GCP shall be non-tradable.

The Green credits issued for the tree plantation under the GCP shall be non-transferable except between the holding company and its subsidiary companies.

GC cannot be utilized to fulfil the site-specific tree plantation obligations related to implementation of any project/activity.