Parliament Question: Efficacy of CAMPA and Forest Diversion

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5025 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026 Efficacy of CAMPA and Forest Diversion 5025. SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ: Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state: (a) the total area of forest land including notified and deemed forest, diverted in Uttar Pradesh since 2017 for Central infrastructure projects, such as National Highways, Railways and transmission lines, category-wise; (b) the compensatory afforestation land identified against such diversion, indicating actual area afforested versus area approved along with the survival rate of plantations as per monitoring reports; (c) the total Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds sanctioned, released and utilised and instances of diversion of funds for non-forestry purposes, if any, State/UT-wise, particularly for Uttar Pradesh; (d) the findings of central inspections or third-party audits regarding the quality of plantations, geo-tagging compliance and gaps in canopy restoration; and (e) the accountability mechanism and time-bound corrective measures adopted to ensure that compensatory afforestation results in ecological restoration rather than only paper compliance? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a) & (b) Since 2017, an area of 6752.59 ha of forest land, including notified and deemed forest, has been diverted under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 for various projects including infrastructure projects such as national highways, railways and transmission lines, in Uttar Pradesh. Category wise details of forest land diverted is enclosed at Annexure-I. In lieu of diversion of 6752.59 ha of forest land, Compensatory Afforestation (CA) has been stipulated over an area of 14,450.76 ha of non-forest land and degraded forest land. The survival rate of afforestation activities undertaken are maintained by the respective State and UT Forest Departments.(c) to (e) Detail of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds sanctioned, released and utilised in respect of Uttar Pradesh is enclosed at Annexure-II. The fund have been utilized for undertaking compensatory afforestation and other activities, including wildlife protection and conservation, as per the provisions of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Rules, 2018. Further, the monitoring of the compensatory afforestation and other activities are carried out as per the procedures laid down in the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016 and its Rules by the National and State CAMPA Authorities. *****Annexure-I Annexure referred to in the reply of part (a) & (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 5025 asked by Shri Pushpendra Saroj: regarding Efficacy of CAMPA and Forest Diversion S. Area Diverted Category No. (in Ha.) 1 Canal 10.45 2 Communication Post 0.16 3 Defence 25.14 4 Drinking Water 44.60 5 Hydel / Irrigation 13.08 6 Industry 61.86 7 Optical Fibre Cable 4.70 8 Others 178.37 9 Petrol Pump 1911.67 10 Pipeline 62.53 11 Power Transmission Line 355.78 12 Railway 909.55 13 Road 3135.62 14 School / Educational Institution 36.98 15 Village Electricity 2.10 Grand Total 6752.59Annexure-II Annexure referred to in the reply of part (c) to (e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 5025 asked by Shri Pushpendra Saroj : regarding Efficacy of CAMPA and Forest Diversion Rs in Cr. Fund released by Ad- Financial Fund Sanctioned by Ad-hoc hoc CAMPA/State Fund Utilized Year CAMPA/National CAMPA Govt. 2017-18 123.00 144.00 97.66 2018-19 150.60 150.60 194.92 2019-20 285.68 197.21 180.69 2020-21 272.00 271.25 252.19 2020-21 170.01 0.00 0.00 Addl. APO - 2021-22 586.90 381.13 362.06 2022-23 344.08 243.40 232.72 2023-24 172.04 169.70 166.90 2024-25 155.57 148.97 146.71 2025-26 176.11 154.70 105.70