In The Log from the Sea of Cortez, John Steinbeck writes, ‘It is one diagnostic trait of Homo sapiens that groups of individuals are periodically infected with a feverish nervousness which causes the individual to turn on and destroy, not only his own kind, but the works of his own kind.’

India was once a pioneer in environmental management and had progressive conservation laws; today, it is not surprising to read that the country ranked 176 out of 177 nations in the recently released 2026 Environmental Performance Index, beating only Laos. Given the persistent concerns about air and water quality, biodiversity, and ecosystem protection, it is worth remembering what brought us here and where we are headed.

The relentless push for ‘ease of doing business’ has led to near-total approvals for forest diversion. The government gave the go-ahead to as many as 10,026 proposals during the period 2020-25 and rejected just 120 proposals – an overwhelmingly high approval rate. Some regions, like Andaman and Nicobar, J&K, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, saw no rejections. 

Coincident with manifold efforts to dilute and bypass environmental laws (even approving post-facto clearances) and culminating in the passage of the Jan Vishwas Act (2023), the pace of forest diversion has accelerated sharply in recent years. Around 215,943 hectares of forest land were approved for diversion for non-forest use between the period FY15 to FY26, rising from 11,941 ha./yr. in the first 5 years to 22,563 ha. in just the last 2 years.

The Green India Mission missed its target to establish new forest cover by 98%, per the CAG. This must give pause, especially when we ironically claim a 22% increase in very dense forest cover, by diverging from FAO guidelines and including commercial plantations, agricultural orchards, and urban trees.

Institutional absence

The courts, especially the Supreme Court, had stepped in over the years to moderate the natural bias of the state towards ignoring environmental considerations in development. This has now changed. The pro-clearance National Green Tribunal (NGT) has not helped. The Print noted that the........

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