The Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act

Why in news?

• The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) has so far disbursed ?48,606 crore to 32 States, according to a response by the Environment Ministry in the Lok Sabha on 7^th December 2021

More about the news:

• CAMPA funds are part of long-pending dues part of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF), a ?54,000-crore tranche collected for nearly a decade as environmental compensation from industry, which has razed forest land for its business plans

About CAF Act:

• The Act establishes the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of India, and a State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of each state.
• These Funds will receive payments for:
  • (i) compensatory afforestation
  • (ii) net present value of forest (NPV)
  • (iii) other project specific payments.
• The National Fund will receive 10% of these funds, and the State Funds will receive the remaining 90%.
• These Funds will be primarily spent on afforestation to compensate for loss of forest cover, regeneration of forest ecosystem, wildlife protection and infrastructure development.
• The Act also establishes the National and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authorities to manage the National and State Funds.

Add ons:

• 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.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016’

1. The Act establishes the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of India

2. 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.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer