Centre releases new rules for calculating Green Credit for tree plantation, focuses on canopy density

The gazette notification, issued by the Ministry of Environment on Saturday, states that industries, cooperatives, and other entities will be eligible for green credit following the completion of a minimum of five years of restoration activities and achieving a minimum canopy density of 40 per cent.

The fresh rules replace the earlier methodology issued in February 2024, where one green credit was granted per tree planted, with a minimum density of 1,100 trees per hectare over two years.

The new rules state: "On completion of minimum five years of restoration activities in the degraded forest land parcel(s), and after achieving a minimum canopy density of forty per cent (40% canopy density), the applicant shall be eligible to submit a claim report in the format specified by the Administrator for award of Green Credit."

The new notification has been issued as part of the Green Credit Rules, which were enacted in 2023. The ambitious government scheme seeks to invite voluntary participation in sectors ranging from plantations to water conservation in exchange for tradable credits.

It also added that in cases where payments have already been deposited and recorded under the February 2024 notification, "the calculation of Green Credit and its usage shall be based on the criteria laid down in that notification."

The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education has been designated as the administrator of the scheme, with applicants required to pay a verification fee.

It also mentions that green Credit will not be non-tradable and non-transferable except for the transfer between the holding company and its subsidiary companies.

The rules further state: "Once the Green Credit is exchanged for any of the purposes mentioned above, it shall be deemed to have been extinguished to the extent such Green Credit has been used and to that extent it cannot be used again." (ANI)