Forest Department’s afforestation plans go awry as A.P. govt. fails to release CAMPA funds in time
The Hindu
Forest Department’s afforestation plans go awry as A.P. govt. fails to release CAMPA funds in time. The department has not been able to implement its Annual Plan Operation since 2018-19 despite the Union government releasing funds, and the interest accrued on unutilised funds now stands at ₹250 crore.
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.
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