The Supreme Court on Wednesday reiterated that the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds are intended solely for restoring green cover lost due to deforestation and should not be diverted for other purposes. The bench, led by Justice B.R. Gavai and comprising Justices P.K. Mishra and K.V. Viswanathan, expressed concern over the underutilization of these funds by several states.
“The very concept of the CAMPA fund is for utilization and restoration of green cover lost on account of deforestation for carrying out various development activities,” the bench emphasized, adding that the funds are not to be used for any other purposes.
The apex court was informed that from 2018 to 2024, most states and Union Territories utilized less than 50% of the CAMPA funds allocated for compensatory afforestation and related activities. As a result, the court had previously directed the chief secretaries and administrators of all states and UTs to file affidavits detailing the expenditure on afforestation and explaining why the remaining funds were not utilized.
During Wednesday’s hearing, senior advocate K. Parameshwar, serving as amicus curiae, noted that several states had submitted their affidavits following the court’s August 7 order. The bench observed that these affidavits revealed widespread underutilization of the CAMPA funds.
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To address this issue, the court suggested that the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) distribute a questionnaire to the chief executive officers of CAMPA in each state, requesting detailed information on the utilization of the funds. The committee is expected to compile the responses and submit a report to the court.
