State forest cover stagnant

In spite of the government implementing the state forest policy since 2008, constituting various committees and spending nearly Rs 4,893 crore since 2010-11, the forest cover in Maharashtra has remained stagnant at 16.45 per cent, according to the CAG.

The report, which was tabled in the state legislature on Wednesday, slammed the state government saying that a substantial amount of ‘zudpi jungle’ land and private forestland were not brought under the reserved/protected category.

“Consequently, no forest management, development and conservation activities could be taken up in these lands by the state forest department,” it states.

The report states that long-term planning for management of forests was not holistic, as 15 of 51 divisions in the state whose working plans had expired between 1989-90 and 2013-14 were either continuing with the old working plans or with no plans at all.

“The gap between the funds demanded by state forest department and that released by the state government is as high as 51 per cent,” it states.

The CAG observed that the outlay for the forestry sector was only one per cent of the total plan during 2010-15 against the minimum of 2.5 per cent recommended by the National Forest Commission in 2006.

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) (meant to promote Afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensation of forestland diverted for non-forest uses) funds parked in the reserved funds of the state were not transferred to the ad-hoc CAMPA account administered by the Union environment and forest ministry, the CAG said.