Response was sought from Uttarakhand Chief Secretary on allegations of misuse of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds by Forest Department, based on a CAG Report.
About Compensatory Afforestation
- Compensatory afforestation ensures that forest lands getting ‘diverted’ for non-forest purposes, like industrial or infrastructure development, is mandatorily accompanied by afforestation effort on at least an equal area of land.
- Compensatory Afforestation involves identification of non-forest land or degraded forest land, provision of funds, utilisation of funds and monitoring mechanism etc.
- Statutory provisions
- Forest (Conservation) Act 1980: Whenever forest land is to be diverted for non-forestry purposes the equivalent non-forest land for compensatory afforestation and funds to be imposed.
- Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016
- Provisions for establishment, management and utilisation of national compensatory afforestation fund and state compensatory afforestation funds.
- These funds are non-lapsable and interest-bearing and the National Fund is maintained in the Public Account of India.
- Provides for constitution of National CAMPA and State CAMPAs to manage and utilise Compensatory Afforestation Funds.
- Compensatory levies are apportioned in the National and State Fund in the ratio of 10:90.