SHWETA KAMAT
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PANJIM: In the last four decades, Goa failed to raise tree plantations in around 3,500 hectares (ha) of degraded or open forest area under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme. Since 1980 till date, the State managed to carry out only 60.54 per cent of what it set out to achieve.
What is more interesting is that, since April 2012 to March 2022, the State government permitted felling of whopping 93,000 trees, with a condition to compensate it with equal or more number of tree plantations.
The Governing Body of CAMPA carried out a review on the subject on September 20. As per the data submitted by the State Forest department, a total of 3,541 ha of Compensatory Afforestation (CA) and Penal CA towards diversion of forest land under Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
Data shows that State managed to take up afforestation at 2,143.61 ha which is 60.54 per cent of the total identified land. The department is in search of required site to cover the balance 1,397.49 ha of land with afforestation.
Citing lack of non-availability of required land, in August, last year, the Forest department had sought approval from CAMPA to carry out compensatory afforestation in Madhya Pradesh for forests lost in Goa. However, the proposal, covering 300 ha of land, was turned down by the new State Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane, who directed the department to identify the land within State.
During the last meeting held in October, 2021, national authority had asked states, including Goa, to complete all its backlog of compensatory afforestation and penal compensatory afforestation by March 31, 2023.
Goa intends to clear the backlog by 2023-24 by spending nearly Rs 160 crore.
In August 2019, Goa received its share of Rs 238 crore, collected since 2009, under CAMPA for promoting afforestation and achieving green objectives.
Rane had informed the House that as many as 92,646 trees have been felled from April 2012 to March 2022 for government projects, including the three linear projects. The total revenue collected from it has been Rs 28.6 lakh.
