To show her strict action regarding the processing of CAMPA’s funds, the Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan has informed the authorities to ask the Comptroller and Auditor General to review the usage of funds to ensure the accurate forest management by implementing compensatory afforestation and sustainable forestry programme.
Attending a meeting over the discussion of spending funds of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority, Natarajan clearly said that the protection along with regeneration of forests and wildlife habitats are the general purposes for which funds of CAMPA are being used.
And any other proposal that seems to be deal with non-forest activities should not to be allowed.
The Minister has rejected the proposal of Director general of forests PJ Dilip Kumar to acquiring 1,000 crore under the CAMPA to set up Sustainable Forestry and Natural Resources Institute and Indian National Forestry Documentation Centre in Delhi.
Despite it, another proposal of Kumar’s Rs. 1 crore to organize second Indian Forest Congress in Bangalore, is also hold by Natrajan for verification that whether the proposal is as per CAMPA’s guidelines.
Minister’s transparency plan is to make secure investigation and review of utilization of CAMPA’s funds that are the money usually deposits in form of forests purpose but use for non-forest purpose.
However as per Supreme Court agreement in 2009, after each six months interval the Central Empowered Committee after monitoring the records of the spending has issued report to Court for ensuring the utilizations of govt. funds.
