The central government has released Rs 238.16 crore to Goa under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority. To promote afforestation and achieve green objectives of the country, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Thursday disbursed Rs 47,436 crore from the CAMPA to 27 states including Goa.
The Union minister clearly told the states to utilise the CAMPA funds towards forestry activities to achieve the objectives of the ‘nationally-determined contributions’ for increasing forest cover. The objectives aim at creating an additional carbon sink equivalent to 2.5 to 3 billion tonne of carbon dioxide by 2030. Javadekar clarified that the CAMPA funds cannot be used for paying salaries, travelling allowances, medical expenses, etc.
Sardinha holds meeting with district collector
It is pertinent to note here that in the past Goa had received CAMPA funds on four occasions. However, the funds were never utilised for the express purpose. According to the available data, Goa had received Rs 12.11 crore in 2009-10; Rs 10.24 crore in 2010-11; Rs 8.55 crore in 2011-12 and Rs 6.50 crore in 2013-14. However, the funds were never used for pushing afforestation in Goa. Ironically, the forest department had utilised some of the CAMPA funds for purchasing vehicles.