CEC Report: 85% Compensatory Afforestation Achieved, Fund Utilization Under Scrutiny

Quick summary

• India achieved 85% of its compensatory afforestation target, completing 1,78,261 hectares out of a planned 2,09,297 hectares between 2019-20 and 2023-24.
• States such as Gujarat, Chandigarh, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh achieved their full targets.

– Madhya Pradesh planted over its target with 21,746.82 hectares.
– Karnataka reached nearly full achievement at 2,761.26 hectares (99.5%).
– Arunachal Pradesh (96.6%), Uttar Pradesh (96.4%), Assam (93.8%) and Sikkim (92.3%) also delivered relatively high performance.

• Lower-performing states include Meghalaya at only 22.3%, Tamil Nadu at 32.3%, Manipur at 37.9%, Kerala at 39.7%,Andhra Pradesh with just a coverage rate of 40.1%, and West Bengal achieving only around one-third of the planned area.

CAMPA Fund Utilization

• ₹38,516 crore was approved for State Annual Plans; ₹29,311 crore was released to States; however only ₹26,001 crore or 67% of the outlay was utilized.

– Positive performers: manipur & Andhra Pradesh used all their released funds; Arunachal Pradesh used 97% while Gujarat exceeded with 116%.
– Underperformers: Delhi spent just 27%. Others like Tamil Nadu (68%) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (53%) lagged substantially.

Challenges Highlighted by CEC

• Issues include delays in annual plan submissions by states;

late fund releases affecting forestry operations due to missed seasonal windows;
monitoring loopholes regarding survival rates;
and administrative hurdles like multiple fund release layers.

Context

The current system originates from Supreme Court mandates in a landmark case requiring compensatory afforestation when forest land is diverted for non-forest use since as implementing tailored ecosystem Scala factor.

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indian Opinion Analysis

India’s efforts to implement compensatory afforestation underscore progress amidst important challenges faced during execution under the CAF Act framework introduced fundamentally enhancing long – better discourse scaling developing technology monitoring discussed