NEW DELHI: The government today gave its nod to move amendments to a bill which paves the way for expeditious utilisation in a transparent manner of over Rs 40,000 crore earmarked for forest land which is lying unspent.
The bill is expected to be tabled in the Parliament in the second half of the budget session which will start from April 25.
“The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi today gave its approval to move official amendments in the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015,” an official statement said.
The legislation will ensure expeditious utilization of accumulated unspent amounts available with the ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) which is presently around 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, the statement said.
Apart from facilitating timely execution of appropriate measures to mitigate impact of diversion of forest land, utilisation of these amounts will also result in creation of productive assets and generation of huge employment opportunities in the rural areas, especially the backward tribal areas.
Javadekar had yesterday said,”We have received report of standing committee. Suggestions given by the committee has been incorporated. The Bill will be tabled in the Parliament in the coming session. We hope that all parties will support it,” Javadekar said.(Agencies)
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