Uttarakhand CAMPA Funds

• 20 Mar 2025

Why in News? 

The Supreme Court of India reviewed Uttarakhand’s response and deemed the Uttarakhand Forest Department’s ‘diversion’ of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds as insignificant.  

 Key Points 

• Allegations Based on CAG Report: 
  • The SC sought a response from the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary regarding allegations from a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in the public domain. 
  • The report accused the Forest Department of misusing Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds for purchasing gadgets, including iPhones and laptops. 
  • The allegedly misused funds amounted to only 1.8% of the total CAMPA funds available. 
• Directive on Interest Deposit Compliance: 
  • The Court directed Uttarakhand to timely deposit interest with the State Compensatory Afforestation Funds (SCAF) as per the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016. 
  • The CAG report highlighted non-payment of Rs 275.34 crore in interest between 2019-20 and 2021-22, despite multiple requests from CAMPA authorities. 

 The Comptroller and Auditor General 

• The CAG of India, as per Article 148 of the Constitution, heads the Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IA-AD). He/she is responsible for safeguarding the public purse and overseeing the financial system at both the central and state levels.   
  • The CAG upholds the Constitution and parliamentary laws in financial administration and is considered one of the key pillars of India's democratic system, alongside the Supreme Court, Election Commission, and Union Public Service Commission.  
• CAG of India is governed by the Comptroller and Auditor-General's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971, with significant amendments in 1976, 1984, and 1987. 

 Compensatory Afforestation Fund 

• The CAF Act was passed by the centre in 2016 and the related rules were notified in 2018. 
• The CAF Act was enacted to manage the funds collected for compensatory afforestation which till then was managed by ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA). 
  • Compensatory afforestation means that every time forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes such as mining or industry, the user agency pays for planting forests over an equal area of non-forest land, or when such land is not available, twice the area of degraded forest land. 
• As per the rules, 90% of the CAF money is to be given to the states while 10% is to be retained by the Centre. 
• The funds can be used for treatment of catchment areas, assisted natural generation, forest management, wildlife protection and management, relocation of villages from protected areas, managing human-wildlife conflicts, training and awareness generation, supply of wood saving devices and allied activities.