Odisha: State govt to create compensatory afforestation land bank

The lands included in the said land bank will be provided only for projects undertaken by central government and state government requiring land for compensatory afforestation

Updated on: May 16, 2023, 20:27:18 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

To facilitate smooth implementation of critical state and central projects requiring diversion of forests, the state government has decided to create a compensatory afforestation land bank of 10,000 hectare.

According to the guidelines, identified land should be a compact patch of minimum 25 hectares. (AP photo | Representative image)

A resolution of Revenue and Disaster Management department said the ‘Compensatory Afforestation Land Bank’ will be created in each district of the state by including degraded revenue forest lands.

However, the land should not have been notified as forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or any other law nor managed as forest by the forest department.

The lands included in the said land bank will be provided only for projects undertaken by central government and state government requiring land for compensatory afforestation.

Also Read:In Argentina’s remote Chaco forests, deforestation uproots natural rhythms

“While the lands included in the land bank will be provided to state government departments on free of all charges, the central government ministries/departments will be required to pay the cost of the land as would be fixed by the collector of the district concerned,” the resolution stated.

According to the guidelines, identified land should be a compact patch of minimum 25 hectares. However, if the land is in continuity of a land declared or notified as forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or under any other law for time being in force, Protected Area, Tiger Reserve or within a designated or identified tiger or wildlife corridor, there will be no restriction on size of the land. The land should be free from encroachment and encumbrances.

Officials said the decision as compensatory afforestation land bank was taken as Centre has made it mandatory while approving proposals for de-reservation or diversion of forest land for non-forest uses under the provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

“The situation with regard to availability of land is getting worse with passage of time. It is difficult to find government land for implementation of projects even for development purposes funded by the state exchequer. On many occasions, land reserved for specific purposes in record of rights are now required to be de-reserved for other public purposes,” said an official of the state forest department.

Till March 31, 2022, about 59,359.9 hectares of forestland have been diverted for developmental projects in Odisha.

In 2021-22, 1193.9 hectare of forest area was diverted for 18 projects.

The largest share of total forestland was diverted for mining-related development activities (50%) followed by irrigation-related activities (17.9%).

Following the Supreme Court judgement in 2002 in TN Godhavarman Vs Union of India case, CAMPA was established in 2004 to manage the Compensatory Afforestation Fund. However, low utilisation of CAMPA funds has been an issue since its inception in 2002.

Among the states, Odisha received the highest cumulative share of CAMPA funds between 2019-20 and January 2023.

However, Odisha has managed to utilise just about one third of the total CAMPA funds allocated to it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

Home/Cities/Others/Odisha: State Govt To Create Compensatory Afforestation Land Bank