Hyderabad, April 17 (FN Agency) Union Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy on Monday wrote to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao regarding the state government’s failure to utilize Rs 610 crore of the allocated amount from the Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds in the last three years. Reddy highlighted that Telangana government had not spent the amount as per their own Annual Plan of Operations (APO) for afforestation under the CAMPA Fund. He also stressed the importance of conservation of nature as a fundamental aspect of India’s cultural heritage and the crucial role that forests play in providing habitats for various wildlife species, medicinal herbs, and livelihood opportunities for tribal communities. The Minister noted that the Government of India had released Rs. 3,110 crore of funds in 2019-20 under CAMPA, which were meant to be utilized in accordance with the APO of the Telangana Government, as approved by the Central Government. However, Kishan Reddy highlighted that in the last 3 years (2019-20 to 2021-22), the Government of Telangana had been unable to fully utilize the funds in accordance with its own approved annual plans.
He pointed out that the inability to fully utilize the funds provided by the Government of India under the CAMPA Fund for afforestation had a negative impact on the habitats of various flora and fauna. The Union Minister also drew attention to the fact that the state government was not releasing its share of funds in various Centrally Sponsored Schemes related to wildlife conservation.Reddy cited a recent report by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which revealed that the tiger population in Telangana had decreased and urged the state government to take immediate conservation measures.Apart from afforestation, the Union government also releases funds from time to time under various central government-sponsored schemes for forest conservation, wildlife conservation, and maintenance of parks and zoos. However, he noted that many reports indicated that the state government was neglecting to utilize these funds properly.
The Minister also raised concerns about the delay in releasing funds of Rs 2.20 crore, which the state government was supposed to release as its share under Project Tiger. The recent NTCA report highlighted that tigers were locally extirpated from Kawal tiger reserve and Chennur of Telangana and emphasized the need for serious efforts to be undertaken in prey augmentation, habitat restoration, and protection to recover tiger populations in the state’s tiger reserves and protected areas. In his letter, Reddyurged the Chief Minister to take appropriate measures to restore the lost forest area in the state by making full use of the funds released by the central government under the CAMPA Fund and promptly releasing the funds by the state government as its share for the various central government-sponsored schemes related to wildlife conservation.