The Forest Department has not been able to implement its activities as per schedule for the last few years due to non release of funds in time by the State government.
The department has not been able to undertake the Compensatory Afforestation, Additional Compensatory Afforestation, Penal Compensatory Afforestation, etc. as per the Annual Plan Operation (APO) since 2018-19.
The prime reason is the non-release of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds as per schedule by the State government despite the Union government releasing the funds.
As per information, the Union government had released ₹1,735 crore funds under the CAMPA in 2018-19. The State government should release the amount to the Forest Department as the per the APO. The department had submitted proposals worth ₹1,703.8 crore during the years 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24.
The National Authority had approved APOs worth ₹1,542.86 crore during the above mentioned years.
Sources said that the State government had released a mere ₹613.53 crore, majority of which during the fag end of the year, impacting the works proposed by the department.
Majority of the works proposed by the department are labour-intensive. The department takes up activities such as raising nurseries, afforestation, improvement of wildlife habitat, etc. The department has to pay wages to the workers. They cannot wait until the government releases funds. Non-release of funds in time is impacting the whole APO, and the department’s activities, say sources.
Biggest challenge
“The biggest challenge is clearance of bills. The government has centralised the clearance and payments of bills through the Comprehensive Financial Management System (CFMS). A lot of persuasion and follow-up is required to get the bills passed,” says a senior official on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, the CAMPA funds were kept in the department’s account. The funds were not a part of the Consolidated Fund as per Articles 266 and 283 of the Constitution. The funds could not be parked in the Consolidated Fund idly, defeating the very purpose.
The CAMPA fund are meant for compensating for the loss of forest land and ecosystem services by raising compensatory afforestation, improving quality of forests through assisted natural regeneration as per the Supreme Court’s directions.
“The government has to pay interest on the unutilised funds to the department. The National Authority notifies the interest rate every year. Roughly, the State government has to pay ₹250 crore towards interest alone,” says the official.
Published - May 29, 2024 08:43 pm IST
