e-Green Watch KML: Preparing CAMPA Plantation Polygons

Forest-division GIS staff, CAMPA cells, and the consultants and user agencies who hand them site boundaries all run into the same problem. A plantation boundary file that opens fine on a laptop can still be marked incorrect once it is reviewed against satellite imagery. The e-Green Watch KML is supposed to show where the work actually is, and a bad polygon undermines every figure attached to it.

This guide covers how to prepare KML plantation-boundary files for e-Green Watch: what the official documents say those files are for, how the Forest Survey of India (FSI) checks them, and how to build and validate a clean polygon. It deliberately does not give a click-by-click upload path, menu names, or file-size limits. We could not verify those from a current official manual. Follow the manual and instructions your State CAMPA or the portal provides.

Takeaways

• e-Green Watch describes itself as the portal for plantation and forestry works carried out by State Forest Departments. The national CAMPA guidelines put KML uploading with States/UTs, and FSI monitors the files.
• Plantation areas go in as polygons. FSI's evaluation manual says point and line features can't be uploaded for plantation work categories.
• KML coordinates are WGS 84 longitude, latitude (in that order), in decimal degrees. A polygon ring must close on its first point.
• FSI compares the polygon area with the area you state. Its manual allows a mismatch of up to 15% in plains and 25% in hilly areas before a polygon is marked incorrect.
• For CA land, the KML should match the approved KML on PARIVESH named in the forest clearance.

What e-Green Watch is and who uploads

The portal at egreenwatch.nic.in calls itself an "Integrated e-Governance Portal for Automation, Streamlining & Effective Management of Processes related to Plantation & Other Forestry Works being carried out by State Forest Department under various schemes." Its public pages include polygon viewers and downloads for Compensatory Afforestation land, diverted land, other (non-CA) plantation sites, plantation works, and asset sites, plus FSI evaluation reports.

The national CAMPA guidelines for preparing Annual Plans of Operation (APO) set out who handles the files:

• KML files submitted by States/UTs are to be monitored by FSI and uploaded on e-Green Watch.
• The verified and corrected KML file, with attribute information of the CA plantation area as a polygon, should be uploaded on e-Green Watch.
• The CA site must be the one approved in the forest-diversion proposal, and its KML or geo-referenced map should match the uploaded and approved KML on PARIVESH mentioned in the forest clearance.
• National CAMPA's Executive Committee has repeatedly directed States/UTs to upload KML files of plantations and other site-specific activities on e-Green Watch on time, and asked FSI and states to train officials in correct uploading.

The sources we read don't say that a mining company or other user agency gets its own upload login. Treat the upload as the forest department's step. If you're a user agency or consultant, your job is usually to give the division a clean, accurate boundary and attribute sheet. Confirm with the Divisional Forest Officer or State CAMPA.

How FSI checks uploaded polygons

FSI's eGreen Watch (CAMPA) manual sets out how its analysts classify polygons against Google imagery. The rules that matter for file preparation:

For plantation work and other plantation work (PW/OPW):

• Point and line features can't be uploaded. A polyline with waypoints may still be analysed, but a file with only waypoints goes in the INCORRECT category.
• Work visible on imagery one or two years before or after the stated project year can still be CORRECT.
• If the work is visible, FSI calculates the polygon area and compares it with the area the state gave. Up to 15% mismatch in plains and 25% in hilly areas can be accepted as CORRECT.
• Incomplete attribute information puts the polygon in INCORRECT.
• If imagery for the project year and one or two adjacent years isn't available, the polygon is UNASCERTAINABLE.

For Compensatory Afforestation land:

• A small shift of a few metres can be CORRECT. A larger shift or a digitisation error is INCORRECT.
• CA land falling entirely on already forested area is INCORRECT, with a remark.
• Visible civil construction on CA land is INCORRECT.
• Point or line features are INCORRECT. The same 15% / 25% area tolerance applies.

For diverted land, a line feature for a linear project such as a road or canal is marked INCORRECT because its area can't be calculated, with a request for the width.

The portal's public "View Remarks on Polygons Uploaded by States" page lets anyone filter by state, site type, and FSI feedback status, and shows GPS status options of Correct, Incorrect, and Pending. Use it to see how existing polygons in your division have been classified.

Two points follow for anyone preparing files. First, the area in your record and the area of your polygon must agree closely. Second, the polygon must sit on the ground where the work is, visible on imagery.

KML basics you need for a plantation boundary

KML is an open standard maintained by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). A few facts from the specification and Google's KML reference decide whether your file is usable:

• Coordinate system. KML uses WGS 84 geographic coordinates, with longitude first, then latitude, then optional altitude. The OGC standard defines its 2D reference system as WGS 84 with long/lat axis order, adapted from EPSG:4326.
• Decimal degrees only. Not degrees-minutes-seconds, and not UTM metres.
• Tuple format. Each vertex is longitude,latitude[,altitude] with no spaces inside the tuple and a space between tuples.
• Closed rings. A polygon boundary is a LinearRing with four or more tuples, and the last coordinate must be the same as the first.
• KMZ is a zip archive holding a main KML file and any supporting files. We couldn't confirm from an official e-Green Watch source whether the portal accepts KMZ as well as KML. The official documents we read refer to KML files. Check before you send a KMZ.

A minimal plantation polygon looks like this. The coordinates are illustrative, not a real site.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2">
  <Document>
    <Placemark>
      <name>Illustrative block 01</name>
      <Polygon>
        <outerBoundaryIs>
          <LinearRing>
            <coordinates>
              78.1001,23.2001,0 78.1031,23.2001,0 78.1031,23.2027,0
              78.1001,23.2027,0 78.1001,23.2001,0
            </coordinates>
          </LinearRing>
        </outerBoundaryIs>
      </Polygon>
    </Placemark>
  </Document>
</kml>

Note the first and last tuples are identical, longitude (78.x) comes before latitude (23.x), and there are no spaces inside a tuple.

Step-by-step: preparing the boundary file

These are general GIS steps. They don't depend on any portal screen.

1. Start from the authoritative boundary. For CA land, that's the site approved in the forest clearance and the KML on PARIVESH named in it. For other plantation sites, use the sanctioned site map or the demarcated boundary on the ground.
2. Capture the boundary. Walk the perimeter with a GPS or DGPS unit and record vertices at each corner and bend, or digitise from a geo-referenced map. Record in WGS 84, decimal degrees. If your data is in UTM or another projection, reproject it in GIS software. Don't retype numbers.
3. One site, one feature. Keep each plantation site as its own polygon with its own ID. If one site is several parcels, keep the parcels traceable to the site and check how your State CAMPA wants them handled. FSI's manual discusses scenarios where small parcels are clubbed together.
4. Clean the geometry. Close the ring, remove duplicate or stray vertices, and fix self-intersections (a boundary that crosses itself). Use a polygon, never a point or a line, for plantation area.
5. Check the area. Measure the polygon's area in GIS software using an appropriate projected or ellipsoidal calculation, and compare it with the area in your plantation record. FSI accepts up to 15% (plains) or 25% (hills) mismatch. Aim to be well inside that, and resolve any gap before upload rather than after an INCORRECT remark.
6. Validate in Google Earth. The CAMPA APO guidelines ask States/UTs to verify that KML files are compatible with Google Earth. Open the file, confirm it loads without error, and check that it sits on the right parcel against current and historical imagery. For CA land, check it doesn't fall on existing dense forest or built-up land.
7. Prepare the attribute sheet. For APO submissions, the guidelines ask for attribute information in Excel in the Annexure IV format: year, project name, project ID, site or location, activity, proposed area in hectares, KML file name, and remarks. Match the KML file name and the sheet exactly. The portal may ask for different fields at upload. Follow its form.
8. Name and archive. Use a consistent file-naming pattern with the site ID. Keep every version, with the date and who captured it.

For APO submissions to National CAMPA, the guidelines also ask for KML files organised in year-wise folders (for example 2024-25) with subfolders per activity, polygons for plantation areas, points for soil-moisture structures, buildings, and nurseries, lines for proposed firelines, and a zipped folder attached with the APO. Those instructions are for the APO package. They aren't a published e-Green Watch upload specification.

Common KML errors that get polygons rejected

• Latitude and longitude swapped. KML reads longitude first. A swapped file for an Indian site lands far from India.
• UTM or DMS values pasted as decimal degrees.
• Points or waypoints instead of a polygon for a plantation site.
• Unclosed rings or self-intersecting boundaries.
• Area mismatch between the polygon and the stated area beyond FSI's tolerance.
• Shifted polygons that sit next to the site rather than on it.
• Missing attributes, which FSI treats as INCORRECT.
• A CA polygon that doesn't match the KML approved in the forest clearance.

e-Green Watch KML checklist

• Boundary source identified (FC-approved site and PARIVESH KML for CA land; sanctioned map for others).
• Coordinates in WGS 84, decimal degrees, longitude before latitude.
• Each plantation site is a closed polygon with a unique ID. No points or lines for plantation area.
• No self-intersections, duplicate vertices, or stray points.
• Polygon area checked against the recorded area, and the difference noted.
• File opens in Google Earth and sits on the right parcel on imagery.
• CA polygon doesn't fall on existing dense forest or construction.
• Attribute sheet complete and file names match.
• Current portal manual or State CAMPA instructions checked for format, KML/KMZ, fields, and size.
• Versioned archive kept with capture date and surveyor.

Where Aranyix fits

Aranyix keeps a geo-tagged tree register, survival resurveys, and dated photo evidence, and produces exportable audit-prep reports. See plantation MRV software in India and geo-tagged tree plantation records. The survival side of the record is covered in CSR tree plantation survival tracking.

Workflows by programme are on CAMPA afforestation, mining greening, and CSR plantation. Aranyix does not log in to e-Green Watch, upload KML files, or respond to FSI remarks. Those steps stay with the forest department and whoever it assigns.

Important — honesty box Aranyix provides plantation MRV, audit-prep evidence, and modeled estimates only. We do not issue Verra, Gold Standard, or other registry credits. We do not issue Green Credits. Aranyix is not a certification body, not a registry, and not a government-approved or empanelled tool. We do not upload to e-Green Watch, PARIVESH, or any other government portal for users. Portal steps and formats come from the official manual, not from us.

Sources

• e-Green Watch portal home page and public reports: egreenwatch.nic.in; "View Remarks on Polygons Uploaded by States": egreenwatch.nic.in/Public/FSI/KML.aspx.
• Forest Survey of India, MoEFCC, eGreen Watch (CAMPA) manual on polygon evaluation: fsi.nic.in/fsi-result/egreenwatch-campa-manual-41220.pdf; a second FSI copy with the same rules: fsi.nic.in/fsi-result/fsi-mmanual-egreen-watch.pdf.
• National Authority (National CAMPA), MoEFCC, guidelines for preparation of APO by State/UT CAMPAs, including Chapter 2 (CA site and KML on PARIVESH; KML upload on e-Green Watch), Chapter 5 (instructions for submission of KML files with APO), Chapter 7 (Executive Committee directions on e-Green Watch), and Annexure IV: nationalcampa.nic.in PDF. The live host timed out during drafting, so the text was read from the Wayback Machine copy of 15 January 2026.
• OGC KML 2.3 standard (coordinate reference system and tuple order): docs.ogc.org/is/12-007r2.
• Google KML Reference (LinearRing rules): developers.google.com/kml/documentation/kmlreference; KMZ files: developers.google.com/kml/documentation/kmzarchives.