By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 10 Jan: CAG reports for a change, this time, have flagged poor utilisation of CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management & Planning Authority) funds by the Uttarakhand Forest Department. As per the CAG report, during the first nine months of the current FY 2025-26 , the department has managed to use just 36.8 per cent of the CAMPA Funds allocated to Uttarakhand by the Centre, which is just over one third of the total allocation for the current financial year. According to the experts, this is a stark pointer to the apathy of the top bureaucrats and other senior officials.
With barely three months remaining before the end of the financial year, the department now faces the formidable challenge of spending the bulk of the remaining funds in a very limited time. Put simply, the budget of which even 40 per cent could not be spent over nine months will now have to be exhausted to the extent of nearly 60 per cent within just three months, a task that appears highly unrealistic in the present circumstances.
It may be recalled that Uttarakhand being a Himalayan state which has over 70 per cent of its area under the forest, receives a substantial CAMPA allocation every year. This makes the role of the Forest department critically important. Activities such as afforestation, wildlife conservation, mitigation of human–wildlife conflict, development of basic infrastructure in forest areas and promotion of eco-tourism are funded through sizeable allocations from the Central Government each year. However, the extent to which this money is being effectively utilised has now become evident through the latest CAMPA expenditure figures.
It may be noted that CAMPA is a dedicated mechanism through which funds are released to States for works related to conservation and development of forest land. The objective is unambiguous, ensuring that essential activities in forest areas do not suffer due to lack of funds. In Uttarakhand, however, the slow pace of the administrative machinery appears to be significantly hampering the utilisation of this important fund whereas in this state, the CAMPA funds are very essential to meet the expenses of crucial forest related activities.
Even after the passage of nine months in the financial year 2025–26, the Forest Department has failed to spend even 40 per cent of the CAMPA allocation. Official figures show that Uttarakhand received a total allocation of approximately Rs 253 crore, under CAMPA during the current financial year. Against this, expenditure so far stands at only Rs 93 crores, which is just about 37 per cent.
With only three months remaining before the financial year draws to a close, the department is expected to spend more than 60 per cent of the remaining budget, task which does not appear to be feasible given the past record of the performance of the forest department.
The weak performance in CAMPA fund utilisation was revealed during a review of budget expenditure carried out by Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal. Following the review, directions were issued to officials to accelerate spending. Speaking to this correspondent, Subodh Uniyal claimed that the pace of budget utilisation would improve in the coming period.
Region-wise data related to CAMPA expenditure further raises serious questions about the working of the department. In the Garhwal region, a total of Rs 135 crore was released under CAMPA, of which only Rs 53 crore could be spent, limiting utilisation to 39.13 per cent. In the Kumaon region, Rs 74 crore was allocated, but expenditure was confined to Rs 25 crore, bringing budget utilisation down to 34.24 per cent. According to the sources, even against the released funds, actual expenditure remains low.
In wildlife areas, Rs 31 crore was released, but only Rs 12 crore could be spent, amounting to around 41 per cent. The position under the research head is even more disturbing, where out of an allocation of Rs 3 crore, only Rs 70 lakh was spent, translating into a utilisation of just 22 per cent. Among other administrative units, out of approximately Rs 9 crore released, the expenditure was limited to Rs 1.24 crore, sreflecting a meagre utilisation rate of 14 per cent.
Within the wildlife zone, Corbett Tiger Reserve recorded the poorest performance in terms of CAMPA fund utilisation. Against a release of Rs 7.13 crore, expenditure was limited to only Rs 1.30 crore, resulting in a utilisation of just 18.32 per cent. In comparison, Rajaji Tiger Reserve performed relatively better, managing to utilise 58.29 per cent of its allotted budget.
At the Circle level, the Yamuna Circle in Garhwal emerged as the weakest performer, with only 29.77 per cent of the CAMPA budget being spent. In Kumaon, the North Kumaon Circle registered the poorest performance, where utilisation remained confined to 33.8 per cent.
Speaking to the media regarding the issue, Head of Forest Force (HoFF) and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Ranjan Kumar Mishra claimed that the department is serious about budget expenditure and that three months are still left in the financial year. He maintained that the budget would be utilised within the remaining time.
This is not the first occasion on which the Forest Department has failed to fully utilise CAMPA funds. In earlier years as well, the department has been unable to achieve 100 per cent expenditure. During the financial year 2024–25, out of nearly Rs 400 crore received from the Centre, the department failed to spend at least Rs 25 to Rs 30 crore by the end of the year, with the unutilised amount being even higher when interest earned on the funds is taken into account. In the current financial year, the situation appears even worse, and full utilisation of the budget seems unlikely.
It also needs to be reminded here that in case CAMPA funds received from the Centre are not utilised by the end of the financial year, the unspent amount lapses, depriving the State of the full benefit of the allocation. Sources in the department claim that the government system spends an inordinate amount of time on procedural formalities, leaving insufficient time for actual implementation of works on the ground, which is one of the major reasons behind the poor utilisation and the failure to ensure timely utilisation.
Significantly, the failure to utilise the budget on time also has a direct bearing on future allocations under CAMPA by the Centre. When the State sends its budget demands to the Centre for the next financial year, past performance and utilisation of previous funds are important parameters considered by central officials. Consequently, poor expenditure records may lead to reduced allocations in the coming years, further aggravating the challenge for a state where effective forest management is central to both environmental protection and sustainable development.
