Explainer: Crores spent, but only slight increase in forest cover in Haryana
Ambala MP Varun Chaudhary’s question in the Lok Sabha on the fate of the increase in forest cover due to afforestation has revealed that despite crores being spent, there was a rise of just 12 sq km in forest cover in the state between 2019 and 2023.
How much funding has been allocated in the last five years from the Centre for afforestation activities?
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that in the last five years, Haryana had received Rs 982.08 crore under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), Rs 4.49 crore under Nagar Van Yojana, Rs 0.17 crore under Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme (FPM), and Rs 7.88 crore under Green India Mission. In total, Rs 994.62 crore was allocated from the Centre.
How much rise in forest cover was noted in Haryana between 2019 and 2023?
According to the India State Forest Report (ISFR) 2019, the forest cover of Haryana was 1,602 sq km, which increased to 1,614.26 sq km in ISFR 2023, a rise of 12.26 sq km. Himachal Pradesh (HP) witnessed a rise of 146.35 square kilometers and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) saw a surge of 224.39 square kilometres in forest cover. Punjab, however, saw a drop of 2.91 sq km.
How much rise in forest cover was noted in Haryana between 2013 and 2023?
Haryana recorded a mere 30.88 sq km increase in forest cover between 2013 and 2023, as per ISFR reports. HP recorded a rise of 897.35 square kilometres and Punjab witnessed an increase of 55.31 square kilometres. J&K’s forest cover rose by 398.12 sq km and Ladakh witnessed a jump by 807.92 sq km.
What does the CEC report say about CAMPA fund utility in Haryana?
CAMPA funds are utilised to compensate for the loss of forest land and ecosystem services by implementing compensatory afforestation, improving forest quality through assisted natural regeneration, enriching biodiversity, enhancing wildlife habitats, controlling forest fires, protecting forests and implementing measures to conserve soil and water.
The Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016, and Rules, 2018, provide elaborate guidelines and activities for the utilisation of CAMPA fund.
According to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC)’s report on CAMPA funds, dated July 11, the cumulative approved physical target for Haryana for 2019-20 to 2023-24 was 5,803.08 hectares, of which the state has carried out afforestation on 5,012.91 hectares. The physical CA target approved by the National Authority for 2024-25 is 748.84 hectares.
The total financial outlay approved by the national authority for Haryana for the years 2019-20 to 2023-24 was Rs 962.22 crore. The state administration had released Rs 1041.03 crore, which was 108.19 per cent of the approved outlay, to Haryana CAMPA. However, the Haryana Authority utilised 57.38 per cent of the released funds.
The total financial outlay approved for 2024-25 was Rs. 120.83 crore. The state authority successfully carried out internal monitoring from 2018-19 to 2022-23 and the third-party monitoring up to 2020-21, according to the CEC report. For the year 2021-22, the task has been assigned to lORA Ecological Solution Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, and the final report will be submitted soon. The survival percentage reported by the State is 60 per cent-80per cent.The CEC report was prepared in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court in its order dated August 29, 2024, in the matter of TN Godavarman Thirumalpad versus Union of India & Ors, regarding the submission of information on various aspects of compensatory afforestation, including the survival percentage.
Haryana Tribune