After getting nod from the Supreme Court on utilisation of more than Rs 11,000 crore lying in under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (Campa) fund, the environment and forest ministry forest on Wednesday said the process of allocating money from the fund to respective states will start in the next two weeks for taking up afforestation and conservation activities. Five states would be key beneficiaries under the fund.
The Campa fund was created in 2004 to ensure that industrial units using forest lands for setting up units must deposit the net value of the diverted forestland with state governments for taking up afforestation and management of forest.
Minister for environment and forest Jairam Ramesh said five states?Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra?that have contributed about 55% of the Campa fund till now would get 10% of their contributions for taking up afforestation this year as per the directive of the Supreme Court. More than Rs 1,000 crore is expected to given to states under Campa this year in proportion to their contributions. In the past seven years, while Orissa and Chhattisgarh have contributed Rs 1,462 crore and Rs 1,448 crore into Campa fund, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have contributed to the tune of Rs 1073 crore, Rs 1027 crore and Rs 1012 crore, respectively. These states would get the maximum allocation under Campa this year.
?This is one of the biggest ever financial resource allocations towards afforestation and promotion of sustainable forest management in the country,? Ramesh said. He said during 10th Five Year Plan period (2002-2007), the total allocation towards forest regeneration and protection was to the tune to Rs 8,200 crore.
This huge financial allocation is expected to boost the environment ministry?s plans to regenerate 6 million hectare of degraded land over the next five years. Since October 2002 about Rs 9,900 crore of principal amount and Rs 1,300 crore of interest have been accumulated under the Campa fund.
On July 10, 2009, the Supreme Court had directed the environment ministry to prepare state Campa guideline for utilisation of Campa fund. Under an interim arrangement, 10% of the accumulated principal amount Campa fund will be released over the next five years and the resources would be used for the projects identified by the state Campa fund that form part of the state forest department?s annual plan.
Under Campa this year, Karnataka is expected to get Rs 60 crore, while Tamil Nadu would get only Rs 2 crore. Bihar gets Rs 8 crore and Punjab gets Rs 34 crore.