- J&K forest department diverted 10,684 hectares of land between 1991 and 2012 for non-forest use
- Rs 796 crore was to be collected from user agencies for reforestation. The money was not collected.
- Funds meant for afforestation used to purchase carpets, LEDs, ACs, iPods, sofa sets, projectors, installation of office cabins, installation of electric transformer, vehicles, fencing, sports meet, hotel bookings etc.
- Part of wildlife sanctuary in Shopian, 680 hectares was diverted for construction of Mughal Road. Short recovery of Rs 45 crore from user agency reported.
KL DESK
Jammu & Kashmir seems to have paid the price for divert- ing its forest land to non-forest use and not carrying out the required afforestation. A study by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the forest cover of J&K in 2013 revealed that the state government diverted at least 10,700 hectares of forest land to non- forest use between 1991 and 2012. Al- most 680 hectares of this was part of a protected wildlife sanctuary in Shop- ian which was diverted for construction of Mughal Road. Worse, the study found that state forest officials diverted funds collect- ed for afforestation towards all sorts of things — payment of loan, advances, sports meet, payment to private hotels etc. Expenditure was incurred on purchase of carpets, LEDs, ACs, iP- ods, sofa sets, projectors, installation of office cabins, installation of electric transformer, vehicles etc.
The CAG study was tabled in Par- liament in mid-2013 as part of evalu- ation of the country’s total collection and expenditure on compensatory af- forestation. The auditor observed that this ex- penditure was in complete violation of Supreme Court guidelines issued while creating the Compensatory Af- forestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) to moni- tor mandatory afforestation wherever forest land was diverted for non-forest use. The federal auditor had made sting- ing remarks and pulled up the state administration for its lack of serious- ness on afforestation drive which was almost negligible. “As of December 2012, the J&K for- est department (between 1991 and 2012) diverted 10,683.86 hectares of land to user agencies for non-forest purposes but its net present value for compensatory afforestation estimated at Rs 796 crore was not realized from user agencies,” the auditor said. As the funds for afforestation was not collected, there was no attempt to create fresh forest cover. It is the duty of the state to collect funds from user agencies and allocate appropriate land on which reforestation can be carried out.
The Central Forest (Conservation) Act is not applicable to J&K. The state forest department is governed by J&K Forest Conservation Act of 1997. Taking cover of this special privilege, the state chose not to implement CAMPA guidelines. The state level steering committee (SLSC) was empowered to take deci- sions on all afforestation activities and allocation of funds. The panel failed to restrict unauthorized expenditure of CAMPA funds in the state, which re- sulted in expenditure on sports meet, payment to private hotels etc. Between 2006-07 to 2011-12, the state CAMPA fund of Rs 67 crore was released out of which Rs 55 crore was spent. The nature of this expenditure was questioned by CAG.
The steering committee had decided that before any area was taken up for afforestation, it would document the latitude and longitude with videogra- phy as well as with satellite imagery. “It was noticed that no follow up action regarding confirmation of com- pensatory afforestation was taken by state as of December 2012,” the audit finding said. The auditor also found large varia- tion in figures of allocation and expen- diture of CAMPA funds. Large varia- tions were revealed in at least eight forest divisions of the state, the test check of records revealed.
Some key points:
J&K forest department diverted 10,684 hectares of land between 1991 and 2012 for non-forest use
Rs 796 crore was to be collected from user agencies for reforestation. The money was not collected.
Funds meant for afforestation used to purchase carpets, LEDs, ACs, iPods, sofa sets, projectors, installation of office cabins, installation of electric transformer, vehicles, fencing, sports meet, hotel bookings etc.
Part of wildlife sanctuary in Shopian, 680 hectares was diverted for construction of Mughal Road. Short recovery of Rs 45 crore from user agency reported.
