F orests are one of the major natural resources and are the lifeline of a prominent rural industry in India. India is also the world’s largest consumer of fuel-wood. Hence, the protection of forests becomes a huge problem in India. For the conservation and development of the forests, The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has implemented plantation schemes in the forest areas with participatory manner. The plantation species under the schemes is selected by the members of Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMC) based on their requirements, ecological conditions and other factors in the supervision of the Forest Department. The ministry has implemented 3 major schemes for the evolution and protection of forests- 1) The National Afforestation Programme (NAP) scheme for the afforestation of degraded forest lands 2) The National Mission for a Green India (GIM) scheme for improving the quality of the forest and an increase in forest cover are...