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| CS defers approval of APOs | | CAMPA in jeopardy | | ET Report
srinagar, Aug 22: Amid allegations of bungling in the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) Chief Secretary Madhav Lal who is the chairman of the Steering Committee of the CAMPA has deferred approval of Annual Plans of Operations (APOs) for 2012-13.
Sources told a local news agency that the Steering Committee had put a condition for the release of new funds under the CAMPA. "The Principal Chief Conservator Forests (PCCF) has been directed to produce details of afforestation works carried under the CAMPA scheme in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 before the approval of APOs for this year," they said.
The Steering Committee which met at Civil Secretariat here on July 31 has asked the PCCF to provide division-wise information of works carried in previous year to the CAMPA Cell Office urgently. "The Steering Committee has also directed that the APOs be revisited to ensure that the cost of fencing component is reduced as far as possible without compromising the future survival of the plantations," sources said.
A letter No PCCF/CAMPA/757-28 dated 01-08-2012 issued by Project Coordinator CAMPA has asked the Chief Conservators of Kashmir and Jammu that the location map of the areas being proposed for plantation during 2012-13, need to be prepared and therein the locations where plantations have been done in previous two years be depicted on Google Map/ Management Map /GT Sheet. "The maps would be produced before the Steering Committee who would examine them properly to see whether plantations and fencing has been done in the areas or not," sources added.
A senior official of Forest department said that the order came in the backdrop of reports of alleged bunglings in CAMPA funds in the previous two years. "The forest officers have shown expenditure on those works which don't exist on ground. In several areas where the expenditure has been shown on plantation and fencing of forests, the works were never carried," he said.
"In Pir Panjal, Sindh, Bandipora, Shopian, Lidder and a few other forest divisions of Kashmir, payments have been drawn for works which were never carried out," he added. While the CAMPA guidelines stresses on creating transparency for the programme and mobilizing citizen support, sources said, most of the forest officers have brazenly violated the norms while executing the works.
"Some of the officers which include Conservator Forests Srinagar Circle, Nisar Darzi, DFO Urban Kashmir, Abid Nazir and few others have not been transferred from their respective postings for the last almost four years while there is a Vigilance case pending against the Conservator North Farooq Geelani. But owing to their close proximity with the Forest Minister, nobody dares to touch them," sources said.
"As the corrupt officers have been given prized postings, Forest and its allied departments are on the verge of disaster. While State Forest Corporation is already reeling under severe financial crunch, situation in Soil Conservation and Wild Life is becoming worse by the day," they said
"While a number of competent officers in the Forest are without postings, officers like Manzoor Ahmad Tak and Abid Nazir have been given two postings. While Tak is holding charge of Joint Director Soil Conservation and Regional Wildlife Warden Kashmir, Abid is holding charge of DFO Urban Forestry and DFO Demarcation despite being a Range Officer," sources added. |
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