Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 22: The state government has exceeded its annual afforestation target for 2013-14 by single-handedly accounting for 95 per cent of compensatory afforestation in the country.
This was revealed at a state-level steering committee on Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Gokul Pati here recently.
“The CAG has said around 95 per cent of the compensatory afforestation of the country has been done in Orissa alone, and that the state has exceeded the target of afforestation,” said principal chief conservator of forests JD Sharma.
Compensatory afforestation has been done over 42,910 hectare till March 2014, exceeding the target by 183 hectares of afforestation, said Chief Conservator of Forest Subash Chandra Swain adding in the current fiscal, the government has done afforestation on over 5,540 hectare of land and a target has been set to have afforestation over another 5,428 hectares during 2015-16.
While reviewing the implementation of the annual action plan for the year 2014-15, Pati directed officials to involve Joint Forest Management committees and Vana Surakshya Samitis in assisted natural regeneration and compensatory afforestation activities.
The state government has developed an online system for the monitoring of CAMPA activities. Pati has advised the officials to follow Orissa Forest Development Corporation’s (OFDC) model for online and mobile monitoring of CAMPA projects.
PCCF AK Mohapatra said e-Green watch activities have also gathered momentum in the state. So far, around 12,500 geo-coordinates have been uploaded to the e-Green Watch portal, which presents visuals of the worksites and the works undertaken to ensure transparency.
The uploading of the actual condition of the worksites taken up during 2009-10, 2010-11, 1011-12 and 2012-13 has been completed and uploading of the worksites of subsequent years is in progress, Mohapatra added.
