With Rs 3,000-crore kitty, Govt embarks on mega forestry plan

Somewhere in the Government coffers lie Rs 3,000 crore, to be used for forestry. Despite prodding from the Supreme Court

Somewhere in the Government coffers lie Rs 3,000 crore, to be used for forestry. Despite prodding from the Supreme Court, the Government could not figure out what to do with this large volume of money for a long time. Now, it is in the process of drafting a mega forestry project with it called ‘Green India’.

They plan to use this sum to leverage equity from financial institutions. But concerns are being raised about the fact that the money is for commercial plantations that would be cut and sold, and not for protecting and preserving precious dense forests.

The money has been steadily collecting over the last years from the Net Present Value (NPV). In September 2005, the Supreme Court put in place a system to evaluate and collect the environmental cost of any project in forest land. Earlier, the cost included just that of trees felled, but NPV includes value of benefits from a forest, including oxygen production, biodiversity, carbon absorption and flood and drought control. All projects—hydro, thermal and roads—have to pay up before they start construction.

Story continues below this ad

The PMO with the Ministry of Environment and Forests has been on the drawing board for the last few months. This is how the maths has been worked out: It takes Rs 1 lakh to green 3 hectares of forest. The target is 3 million hectare in the next 3-5 years.

The 3,000 crore would be used to raise funds to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore. NABARD has already been approached. Each year, Rs 300-350 crore will be available for forestation. Forest produce and Clean Development Mechanism would generate further returns on this.

This money would be used to green six million hectares of degraded land in the country. But forestry experts are sceptical: Mega projects in forestry have failed so far. Crores of rupees have already gone down the drain. Government records show that they have already done 28.5 million hectares of plantation but there is little to show on the ground.

Some experts are being consulted on how best to implement this scheme. According to sources, one view is that this money should be used to protect degraded forests where the root-stock already exists. With protection, it could turn into dense forest, invaluable for its ecological properties like water conservation and absorbing carbon emissions.