Around 1,78,261 ha of compensatory afforestation raised; 85% of planned area achieved; gaps in fund use: CEC report
The report filed earlier this month revealed that utilisation of funds under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) varies sharply across States.
According to the report, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh recorded full achievement of their targets.
Madhya Pradesh planted 21,746.82 hectares, fully achieving its target of 21,107.68 hectares. Karnataka also met nearly its entire target, covering 2,761.26 hectares against 2,775.12 hectares. Arunachal Pradesh planted 20,719.46 hectares against 21,478.03 hectares, achieving 96.6%.
Uttar Pradesh reported 96.4% achievement, planting 5,877.16 hectares against 6,096.7 hectares. Assam covered 1,149.64 hectares against 1,191.82 hectares, achieving 93.8%.
Sikkim planted 609.52 hectares, achieving 92.3%, while Punjab achieved 4,019.72 hectares against 4,471.94 hectares, about 89.9%.
In contrast, Meghalaya had one of the lowest coverage, achieving only 114.56 hectares against a target of 514.76 hectares or 22.3%.
Manipur planted 666.94 hectares against 1,759.84 hectares, achieving 37.9%. Kerala covered 171.80 hectares against 433.06 hectares, achieving 39.7%.
West Bengal achieved only 748.25 hectares against 1,911.74 hectares, about 39.2%. Tamil Nadu planted 84.76 hectares against 262.39 hectares, achieving 32.3%. Andhra Pradesh reported 3,471.88 hectares against 8,663.46 hectares, covering only 40.1%. The report also reviewed the use of CAMPA funds during this period.
National CAMPA approved ₹38,516 crore for State annual plans between 2019-20 and 2023-24. States released ₹29,311 crore to their Forest Departments, of which ₹26,001 crore was utilised. This means only 67.5% of the approved outlay was spent.
Utilisation varied widely, with Manipur, Andhra Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh utilising 100%, 100% and 97.8% of the funds released to them, respectively.
Mizoram reported utilisation above 91%, Sikkim 97.7%, Karnataka 96.6% and Odisha 87.9%. Chhattisgarh recorded 95% utilisation of the funds released and Gujarat spent more than it released, utilising 116% owing to the carryover balances.
Several States lagged behind. Tamil Nadu used only 67.9% of the funds released, while Jammu and Kashmir spent 62.5%. Haryana also underperformed, using 57.4%. West Bengal spent 81.1% and Delhi just 26.9%, the lowest among all States.
Telangana reported 60.4% utilisation and Andaman & Nicobar Islands spent 53.1% of the released funds. The CEC said that "delays in submission of annual plans by States, late release of funds and the lack of dedicated CAMPA offices affect seasonal forestry operations."
'Monitoring of survival rates remains weak and multiple layers in the fund release process contribute to underutilisation,' it said.
Despite these shortcomings, it said progress under the statutory framework has been "significant" given initial difficulties, including disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With thousands of hectares of natural forests lost each year to development projects, the report warns that gaps in plantation survival and underutilisation of funds undermine the very purpose of the CAMPA mechanism.
The compensatory afforestation regime originated from a series of orders in the landmark TN Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union of India case of 1995.
In these orders, the Supreme Court mandated that when forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes, user agencies must provide funds to compensate for the loss through afforestation on non-forest land or degraded forest land.
To formalise and regulate the management of these funds, Parliament enacted the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016. The Act established the National and State CAMPA to manage the money collected from user agencies. The CAF Rules, 2018, provided the framework for how these funds should be used.
The Act and Rules specify that the money transferred to States and Union Territories can only be used for afforestation, regeneration of degraded forests, wildlife protection and other activities aimed at ecological restoration.
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