Plants 217 ha against 200 ha target set for 2024-25
PANAJI
As against the set target of 200 hectares by the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Authority (CAMPA), the Forest Department has managed to carry out compensatory afforestation (CA) covering a total of 217 ha for the current financial year 2024-25.
With another 450 ha target for the next two years, the Forest Department is working on introducing real-time monitoring of compensatory afforestation, which is carried out in lieu of permissions granted to fell trees for various projects and individuals.
CAMPA, during its meeting in September last year, had set the target for Goa to carry out compensatory afforestation covering 674 hectares over the next three years. Of this, Goa was supposed to meet the target of 200 ha in 2024-25, for which Rs 18 crore in funds were allocated.
According to sources, a total of 615 ha, which comprises 217 ha under CAMPA and 398 ha under the State plan-plantation, has been carried out under the Compensatory Afforestation Scheme and Assisted Natural Regeneration in degraded forest area schemes during the current fiscal.
Sources informed that the State will also have to carry out another 237.5 ha of compensatory afforestation each in the next two financial years, 2025-26 and 2026-27.
“We have so far managed to achieve over 81 per cent of our previous CA target. Since 1980, over 4,000 hectares of forest land have been diverted under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. As per the law, the forest department has to undertake CA and Penal CA to cover the diverted land,” sources said.
Meanwhile, Goa Electronics Limited (GEL) is currently in the process of developing a software-based tool for effective and real-time monitoring of CA, which is mandatory under the Goa Preservation of Trees Act, 1984. “This was a recommendation of the Tree Authority of Goa, and GEL is working on it,” sources said.
According to the Act, the project proponent or the individual responsible for felling or disposing of any tree is bound to plant or replant such number and kind of trees as directed by the Authority.
