PANAJI
The National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) has provisionally empanelled four agencies to undertake third-party monitoring and evaluation of CAMPA-funded activities in Goa, paving the way for independent assessment of afforestation works, plantation survival and ecological restoration projects in the State.
The empanelment is part of a national exercise to strengthen oversight of CAMPA expenditure and assess whether projects are delivering the intended environmental outcomes, rather than relying solely on expenditure records and reports submitted by implementing departments.
The four agencies empanelled under Cluster 4, which includes Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry, are the Centre for Development Communication and Studies, Jaipur; Environment Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad; ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore; and the International Cooperation Division of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun.
“Under the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for CAMPA Works, the independent agencies will assess implementation through physical inspections, measurement surveys, geo-tagged photographs and remote-sensing tools, depending on the nature of the activity. Plantation assessments will examine survival rates, vegetation cover and plant diversity, while the broader exercise will evaluate whether projects are achieving their intended ecological benefits,” sources explained.
The framework also seeks to verify whether completed works match approved plans and targets, strengthening accountability in the utilisation of funds earmarked for afforestation, soil-moisture conservation, forest-fire management, infrastructure and wildlife conservation, sources said.
Goa had Rs 345.09 crore available across various CAMPA fund categories as per the 2026 position. This includes Rs 43.07 crore under compensatory, penal and additional compensatory afforestation, Rs 2.49 crore for other mandatory activities, Rs 197.80 crore under net present value (NPV) and Rs 101.73 crore in interest.
Meanwhile, the State continues to work towards clearing its compensatory afforestation backlog. Since 1980, around 2,362 hectares of forest land in Goa has been diverted for non-forest purposes. Against a mandated target of 3,566 hectares under compensatory and penal compensatory afforestation, 3,319 hectares of afforestation work had been taken up by 2025-26.
The remaining 246.58 hectares will be covered under a three-year plan approved by National CAMPA. The Forest Department will undertake afforestation over 80 hectares each in 2026-27 and 2027-28, followed by the remaining 86.57 hectares in 2028-29.
The State has earmarked Rs 11.84 crore for compensatory afforestation in the current financial year, besides Rs 2.04 crore for other site-specific activities, with the proposals approved by National CAMPA.
