10 hours Ago By Arpita Ghosh
Funds intended for compensatory afforestation in Uttarakhand were diverted by the state's forest division to various unrelated expenses, such as the purchase of iPhones, laptops, refrigerators, and coolers, building renovations, and legal fees, as revealed by an audit conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The report covers the functioning of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) between 2019 and 2022, and it was submitted to the state assembly on Thursday. Also Read: Uttarakhand Unveils 'NAMO' Budget with Total Outlay of Over Rs 1.
01 Lakh Crore – Here's The Breakdown According to the CAG report, a total of Rs 13.86 crore was diverted for other activities, such as renovation of forest department buildings and purchases of iPhones and computers. The report did not provide a specific breakdown of these expenses.
The CAMPA, which is under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, manages funds collected from developers who convert forest land for non-forest purposes. The funds are intended to be used for afforestation and regeneration efforts on an equal area of land. However, the report highlighted several issues in the execution of this mandate.
One major concern raised by the report is the low survival rate of the afforestation projects. The average survival percentage of trees was found to be 33.51%, which is significantly lower than the 60-65% mandated by the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun.
The report also noted the diversion of 188.62 hectares of forest land for non-forest purposes, such as road construction, in 52 cases. This was done without the necessary permissions from the central government, as required under the Forest Conservation Act.
Furthermore, the forest divisions did not take any action against these unauthorised uses of foresst land, failing to classify them as forest offences. Also Read: Worry For India From Trading Partner US? Trump Vows To Impose Reciprocal Tariffs: 'Want To Be Fair' The CAG report also pointed out that in several cases, compensatory afforestation was delayed for more than eight years after receiving final clearance. This delay resulted in a cost escalation of Rs 11.
54 crore. The report found that the state had shifted its financial burden for various forestry activities, such as soil and water conservation, meadow protection, and the construction and renovation of buildings, onto CAMPA funds. As a result, the expenditure on state schemes declined by 16.
81% from 2019-20 to 2021-22, while CAMPA expenditures rose by 379.63%. The report also flagged that the CEO of CAMPA released funds to forest divisions and implementing agencies without approval from the Head of Forest Force, as directed by the Principal Secretary (Forest) in July 2020.
The CAG recommended that the state authority implement proper budgetary control measures to prevent the diversion or misappropriation of funds. Following the revelations, State Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal said, as quoted by Hindustan Times, "CAG report has raised some issues with regard to some issues like the diversion of funds. I have directed the principal secretary forest department to investigate the matter.
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