Latest news with #CompensatoryAfforestationScheme
New Indian Express
07-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Experts filed petition express concern of loss of natural forest due to flawed compensatory afforestation
Former bureaucrats and forest officials have filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking intervention against the government's unlawful implementation of the Compensatory Afforestation Scheme (CAS) on designated forest land. Under CAS, if forest land is diverted for non-forestry purposes, an equal area of non-forest land should be afforested to compensate for the loss. However, the petition stresses that the government's current implementation of CAS violates a Supreme Court order dated 3 February 2025. In its interim order, the Supreme Court restrained the Centre and State governments from cutting down forest areas without providing compensatory land. 'There have been multiple instances of compensatory afforestation being permitted on degraded notified forests, Revenue forests, and other unclassed forests that are statutorily protected, as per this Hon'ble Court's directions in the Godavarman order of 12 December 1996. The order dated 3 February 2025 also prohibits such diversions,' the petition states.
United News of India
14-05-2025
- United News of India
Odisha Vigilance arrests five forest officials for embezzlement of Govt funds
Bhubaneswar, May 14 (UNI) Odisha Vigilance has arrested five forest department officials for allegedly embezzling government funds amounting to Rs 80 lakh under the "Compensatory Afforestation Scheme" in the Kalahandi South Forest Division during the 2023–24 financial year. According to sources from Odisha Vigilance, an enquiry was initiated based on credible inputs regarding large-scale misappropriation of government funds under the scheme in the Jaipatna Range of Kalahandi Sout Forest Division. A verification of the plantations under the scheme was carried out by four teams comprising 25 officers from Odisha Vigilance. A thorough enumeration was conducted at several plantation sites within the Jaypatna Range. The enumeration revealed significant shortfalls in plantation work and misappropriation of funds at five sites. The investigation further uncovered that the plantation funds had been diverted to multiple fictitious labour accounts and withdrawn shortly afterward. Following the enquiry, prima facie evidence was established against the following forest officials: Sairendri Bag, Deputy Ranger and In-Charge of Jaipatna Range; Umesh Rout and Debraj Sunani, Foresters; and Ashok Kumar Sahu and Lalit Naik, Forest Guards — all posted in Jaipatna Range. They were found to be involved in the misappropriation of Rs79,54,635 by falsifying records and failing to carry out the plantation work during the 2023–24 fiscal year. In this connection, the Koraput Vigilance has registered a case on May 12 under Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended by the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, and Sections 316(5), 318(4), 336(3), 340(2), and 61(2) of the BNS against the five officials. All five accused were arrested on Tuesday and produced before the Court of the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhawanipatna. The investigation is ongoing. UNI DP ARN
