The afforestation drive in Telangana State under the banner of ‘Telangana Ku Haritha Haram’, which has officially clocked planting of close to 26 crore fresh saplings by August 18, could be facing its first ever fund crunch.
Officials, under the condition of anonymity, informed that the budget allocations to the Forest Department for the afforestation drive have all been exhausted, yet there are fresh tenders from districts running into crores of rupees, which will need release of more funds.
The budgetary allocation for the afforestation fund under the Plan expenditure have been meagre this time round, at about Rs.50 crore, as against the same the previous year at close to Rs. 282 crore, later revised to Rs.165 crore.
Besides the allocations, the TKHH programme also depends on devolution for the State from CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) funds, and also on additional funding from the MGNREGA funds sanctioned to the Rural Development Department.
However, the CAMPA funds are to be used only for plantation and other activities inside the land allocated for reserve forests.
The MGNREGA funds, on the other hand, are invested on nurseries, and plantation in villages and alongside the Panchayat Raj roads. Here too, only 40 per cent of the labour component and 60 per cent of the material component is borne from the MGNREGA funds, with the rest drawn from Afforestation Fund under the Forest Department.
In addition, Afforestation Fund is used for avenue plantation, social forestry, and barren hill afforestation outside the reserve forests. Funding up to Rs. 500 crore more is needed to carry out all the planting and maintenance operations up to March next year, which is not ensured from anywhere, shares an official. “The immediate requirement itself is close to Rs. 40 crore, which is the value of tenders issued by all the district Collectors for supply of more plant material,” he says. Watering and fences will require over Rs. 300 crore.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, in a recent review meeting of TKHH works, is said to have promised funding from the special fund of Rs.5,000 crore, but only after an audit conducted on the survival of plants. The survival of saplings planted in such a massive drive can only be known by geo-referencing the coordinates of the plantation areas through Geographic Information Systems.
Though close to 26 crore saplings have been reportedly planted in various districts, not even 10 per cent of them have been marked with geo-referencing, says the official.
