Afforestation Bill left high and dry?

The Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) Bill, which was expected to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha, was pushed to the backburner for the second day on Tuesday with the Opposition Congress pressing for the Bill granting Andhra Pradesh special status to be taken up first.

The CAMPA Bill, which is likely to unlock over ₹40,000 crore, is likely to be opposed by the Congress on the grounds that it lacks sufficient protection for tribal and vulnerable communities.

The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in the Budget session.

Cong stance Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Sabha MP and former Minister for Environment and Forests, said the Bill has to be amended to include rules in line with the Forest Rights Act (FRA) as in its current form it is not in the interest of tribals.

Ramesh, who has moved an amendment to the Bill, said the Congress will press for the amendment – that only such land will be acquired for compensatory afforestation projects on which no forest dweller had staked claims under FRA – as and when the Bill is taken up for discussion..

The Centre has been pushing for the Bill to be passed in its current form, while insisting that the finer points and rules could be framed later. Ramesh, however, stressed that principles of law require such provisions to be placed in the statute, not in the Rules.

Under the existing Bill, the afforestation funds will be administered by forest officials at the Centre as well as the State level.

This is, however, one of the concerns being raised by environmentalists who feel control over forestry funds, without any requirements of taking gram sabha consent, are one of the ways of depriving forest-dwelling communities of their rights under the FRA.

Some of the proposed afforestation projects have already run into trouble.

“It is not our argument, and it is not the purpose of the proposed amendment, to prevent these funds from being spent. The question is, should this spending be completely in the hands of corrupt forest bureaucrats who have a track record of depriving people of their rights? Or should there be at least minimal safeguards to protect legal rights under the FRA?” Ramesh said.

Under FRA, forest dwellers cannot be removed from their land without consent through the gram sabha and any project affecting should be required to take consent from the body. Further, it also empowers such communities to manage forest resources.

‘Improve processes’ However, the amendments are unlikely to be of much help unless the processes also are improved, say environmentalists.

“The CAMPA debate needs to be understood in the light of the longstanding problems of compensatory afforestation in India. The experience of realising compensatory afforestation has been dismal to say the least. Even the CAG audits have pointed this out. The three big problems are availability of land, payments by those who divert forests and finally its utilisation for the purpose of afforestation. The CAMPA mechanism could not deal with these core problems that were placed before the Supreme Court in late 1990s, which led to the formation of the CAMPA.

“Even if the Bill goes through and the FRA concerns are taken on board all these issues will remain,” said Kanchi Kohli, Legal Research Director, Namati Environmental Justice Programme, Centre for Policy Research.

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