‘By blocking forestation bill, Cong is committing sin’

NEW DELHI: The government hit out at the principal opposition party after it delayed the passage of a bill that would unlock Rs42,000 crore meant to be disbursed

NEW DELHI: The government hit out at the principal opposition party after it delayed the passage of a bill that would unlock Rs42,000 crore meant to be disbursed to states for forestation, in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

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It accused the Opposition of committing a ‘sin’ and blocking the country’s progress. The Congress created chaos in the Upper House on July 22 over a bill regarding the special status of Andhra Pradesh, which was to be moved by Congress member KVP Ramchandra Rao.

“Congress is committing a sin by blocking the CAMPA bill in Parliament under which Rs42,000 crore could have been sanctioned to various states, including Rs2,023 crore to Andhra Pradesh,” minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

The CAMPA bill seeks to create a Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) and a Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF).

Some states that might benefit from the release of these funds include Odisha (Rs5,996 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs1,314 crore), Uttarakhand (Rs2,210 crore), Himachal Pradesh (Rs1,395 crore) and Jammu and Kashmir (Rs926 crore).

“The Congress has obstructed work related to the nation’s development and reform, which is a result of their negative approach and feudal mindset. They blocked the development of Dalits, tribals and weaker sections by creating a hurdle in the passage of several important bills in Parliament for the last several sessions,” Naqvi alleged.

He argued that the passage of the bill was important as afforestation work had to be taken up on a war footing due to the ongoing monsoon.