Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016

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Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016
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Parliament of India
Passed by Lok Sabha
Passed3 May 2016
Passed by Rajya Sabha
Passed28 July 2016
Assented to3 August 2016
Commenced30 September 2018 [1]
Status: In force

CAMPA Act or Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act is an Indian legislation that seeks to provide an appropriate institutional mechanism, both at the Center and in each State and Union Territory, to ensure expeditious utilization efficiently and transparently of amounts released instead of forest land diverted for non-forest purposes, which would mitigate the impact of diversion of such forest land. The Act and the related CAF Rules, 2018, were notified on 10 August 2018, and the Act came into force w.e.f. 30 September 2018.

Contents

History

The Ministry of Environment and Forest, New Delhi, issued a notification on 23 April 2004 describing the constitution, management, and functions of the CAMPA committee. [2] The act was sent for examination under a standing committee. [3] It was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 28 July 2016. [4]

Compensatory Afforestation Fund

This is money paid by developers who have cleared forest land for their construction projects, and the idea is that such land destroyed needs to be made good by regenerating forest elsewhere on non-forest land.

Purpose

The legislation established the Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) and the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF). [5] The proposed legislation will also ensure expeditious utilization of accumulated unspent amounts available with the ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), which presently is of the order of Rs. 95,000 crore, and fresh accrual of compensatory levies and interest on accumulated unspent balance, which will be of the order of approximately Rs. 6,000 crore per annum, efficiently and transparently. [6] [7] [8] According to a press release of 31 July 2025, the Act provides for the establishment of funds under the Public Accounts of India and all States/UTs for depositing compensatory levies collected from user agencies. [9] Several state-level reports (2024–2025) highlight significant under-utilization of CALFA funds; for example, Delhi utilized only ~23% of approved funds between 2019–20 and 2023–24. [10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gazette of India notification
  2. ↑ Bahuguna, V.K. "CAMPA gazette Notification" (PDF). www.mahaforest.gov.in. Ministry of Environment & Forests. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2015". IASPOINT.
  4. ↑ "Bottleneck on fine print cleared, CAMPA Act passes", The Indian Express , 29 July 2016
  5. ↑ "CAMPA Act set to clear House; Govt, Cong reach compromise", The Indian Express , 21 July 2016
  6. ↑ "CAMPA: The manager of afforestation funds", The Indian Express , 25 May 2016
  7. ↑ "Din in Rajya Sabha delays CAMPA Act", India Today , 25 July 2016
  8. ↑ "PRS - Bill Track - The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2015". www.prsindia.org.
  9. ↑ "Campbell Title Registrations to Date – May 2025, and Discontinued Protocols". Campbell Systematic Reviews. 21 (2) e70052. June 2025. doi:10.1002/cl2.70052. ISSN   1891-1803. PMID   40458314.
  10. ↑ "Cash over canopy? Delhi sits on over 75% of forest funds". The Times of India. 21 July 2025. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 3 November 2025.
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