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Cabinet okays Compensatory Afforestation Fund bill
Cabinet
okays Compensatory Afforestation Fund bill
New Delhi, April 29 In a move aimed at mitigating the impact of
diversion of forest land for non-forest use, the union cabinet on Wednesday
okayed the introduction of a bill to set up an institutional mechanism for the
intended purpose.
The cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved
introduction during the current session of parliament a bill called "The
Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015", said an official communique.
The institutional mechanism, both at the Centre and in each state and union
territory, would ensure expeditious utilisation in efficient and transparent
manner of amounts realised in lieu of forest land diverted for non-forest
purpose.
The proposed legislation also seeks to provide safety, security and
transparency in utilisation of these amounts, which are currently available in
nationalised banks and are being managed by an ad-hoc body.
Unspent amounts available with the ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund
Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) would also be monitored for their
optimum utilization.
The statement said the CAMPA funds presently total Rs.38,000 crore, and fresh
accrual of compensatory levies and interest on accumulated unspent balance will
be of the order of approximately Rs.6,000 crore per annum.
The utilization of these amounts would facilitate timely execution of
appropriate measures to mitigate the impact of diversion of forest land, for
which these amounts have been realised, the government said.
The proposed legislation also intends to create "productive" assets
and generate "huge" employment opportunities in rural areas,
especially in backward tribal areas.
Among other provisions, the bill would also provide for the national
Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) and the state CAFs to credit amounts
collected by state governments and union territories to compensate loss of
forest land diverted for non-forest purpose.
A body would be constituted to manage and utilise amounts credited to the
national as well as state CAF while a monitoring group would be instituted to
assist the National Authority take stock of amounts released from the national
as well as the state CAFs.