Parliamentary panel examining bill on forest land given extension

NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel examining a bill on the use of forest land for non-forest purposes has been granted extension till the end of next month to submit its report.

"Rajya Sabha has granted extension of time to the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests for examination and report on 'The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015' upto February 29, 2016," an official statement said.

The bill seeks to pave the way for expeditious utilisation of funds realised for forest land diverted to non-forest purposes in a transparent manner.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April last year, had cleared the bill which will also ensure utilisation of accumulated unspent funds already available with Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).

The bill was introduced in Lok Sabha by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in May last year.

The proposed measure will also ensure that there is a mechanism in place which would not put any additional expenditure on the central government.

It also provides for establishment of the National CAF and the state CAF to credit amounts collected by state governments and Union territory administrations to compensate loss of forest land diverted for non-forest purpose.