By: Ibni Maqbool
Srinagar: A whopping amount of Rs 1813 crore has been deposited by different user agencies with authorities for using forestland for non-forestry purposes in Jammu & Kashmir.
Documents accessed by The Precious Kashmir lay bare that user agencies have deposited Rs 1813 crore with the J&K Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority(CAMPA) till date for using forestland for building infrastructure. “User agencies have deposited, as per the available records, a total of Rs 1813.67 crore with the J&K CAMPA till 31 August 2021 which includes Rs 286.25 crore received from forest land diversion cases falling in Ladakh region as well. After establishment of a separate Ladakh CAMPA w.e.f. 31 October 2019, receipt of compensatory levies and utilisation is being done by that authority,” reads the documents.
In the past 11 years, according to documents, a total expenditure of Rs 762.55 crore has been incurred under the CAMPA, which includes Rs 616.33 crore by the Forest and allied departments and Rs 146.23 crore by the Wildlife Protection department.
It is worthwhile to mention that transfer of forest land for non-forest purposes is being regulated under Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA) 1980 since October 31, 2019. Before the reorganization of J&K, the transfer of forest land used to be regulated under J&K Forest (Conservation) Act 1997.
In the erstwhile state of J&K, a high-level panel headed by Chief Secretary was empowered to decide on transfer of forest land for non- forestry purposes.
Now, the Government of India decides on such cases due to changes in the legal framework of J&K.
Under the existing central law, user agencies are required to pay cost of compensatory afforestation in lieu of the forest land diverted for non-forest purposes.
