The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the decks for moving amendments to Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015, aimed at “expediting in a transparent manner” the use of about '42,000 crore lying
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the decks for moving amendments to Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015, aimed at “expediting in a transparent manner” the use of about '42,000 crore lying unspent for afforestation activities in states. The bill, if passed, would create a robust “permanent institutional mechanism”, which has been absent so far, for distribution of this “accumulated amount” to states to plant trees in a bid to compensate the effects of diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes like industrial projects. It is expected to be tabled in Parliament in the second half of the up coming session.
Sources said that it is likely to be passed. Hoping that all parties will support the bill, environment minister Prakash Javadekar said that suggestions given by the parliamentary standing committee have been incorporated.
An official statement said that the “legislation will ensure expeditious utilisation of accumulated unspent amounts available with the ad hoc Compensatory Afforest-ation Fund Management and Planning Authority, which presently is of the order of Rs 40,000 crore, and fresh accrual of compensatory levies and interest on accumulated unspent balance, which will be of the order of approximately Rs. 6,000 crore per annum, in an efficient and transparent manner, adding, “ Utilization of these amounts will facilitate timely execution of appropriate measures to mitigate impact of diversion of forest land. Apart from that it would also result in creation of productive assets and generation of huge employment opportunities in the rural areas, especially the backward tribal areas.”
Besides deleting some of environmental services for which credible model to assess their monetary value does not exist, the Bill would also provide for use of “monies realized from the user agencies in lieu for forest land diverted in protected areas for voluntary relocation from protected areas.”
This apart, the amendments would include a point for prior consultation with States governments for making rule under the new legislation and provide for establishment of State Fund of a Union territory having no legislature.
It also provides for including secretaries of Ministries dealing with Space and Earth Sciences as members of governing body of the National Authority while it also increases the number of expert members in governing body of National Authority from two to five and in executive committee from two to three.
One of the most inclusive features of the Bill would be the inclusion of an expert on tribal matters or representative of tribal community as a member in both steering committee and executive committee of a state authority. The legislation will extend to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the statement added.
Five days after it was tabled in the Lok Sabha on 8 May 2015 the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015 was referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. On 26 February this year the Committee submitted its report to the Parliament which was examined and it was proposed to move the official amendments in the Bill.
