 "CAG exposes Rs 13.9 cr Uttarakhand’s forest funds diverted to buy iPhones, laptops; READ")
synopsis
The CAG audit of CAMPA (2019-2022) revealed the misuse of Rs 13.9 crore intended for afforestation, with funds diverted to unrelated expenses such as gadgets, office supplies, and travel costs.
Dehradun: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India audited the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) from July 2019 to November 2022 and discovered that Rs 13.9 crore, designated for afforestation efforts, was misused for unrelated expenditures. The funds were reportedly spent on items such as iPhones, laptops, refrigerators, air coolers, and office supplies instead of afforestation activities.
Compensatory afforestation is a legal requirement when forest land is diverted for industrial or infrastructure projects, mandating tree plantation on an equivalent land area.
The audit report highlighted that in Uttarakhand’s forest divisions, funds allocated for compensatory afforestation were misused for "inadmissible activities". These included expenditures on the state's Harela scheme, tiger safari projects, building renovations, official travel expenses, legal proceedings, and the procurement of electronic gadgets and office supplies.
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The audit identified 52 instances where user agencies (UAs) diverted 188.6 hectares of forest land for non-forest purposes without authorization. In several cases, UAs initiated road construction on forest land without approval, while the respective forest divisions did not take action or classify these violations as offences.
The report highlighted significant delays in compensatory afforestation, revealing that in 37 instances, implementation started only after eight years of receiving final approval. This delay resulted in a cost increase of Rs 11.5 crore. According to CAMPA guidelines, afforestation should commence within one to two years of fund allocation. Furthermore, the survival rate of planted trees was merely 33.5%, falling well below the 60-65% standard set by the Forest Research Institute.
The audit found that in five forest divisions, 1,204 hectares of land allocated for compensatory afforestation were unsuitable for the purpose. This indicated that the suitability certificates issued by divisional forest officers (DFOs) were inaccurate and granted without proper evaluation. Despite this negligence, no action was taken against the responsible DFOs.
"CAMPA's CEO disbursed funds to forest divisions and implementing agencies between July 2020 and Nov 2021 without requisite approval from the head of forest force, as mandated by the principal secretary (forests) in July 2020," the CAG report added.
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