Supreme Court finds Uttarakhand Forest Department’s diversion of CAMPA funds ‘trivial’, associated with forest duties
The Hindu
Supreme Court finds Uttarakhand Forest Department's diversion of CAMPA funds for gadgets "trivial," cautions against future misuse.
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday (March 19, 2025) found the ‘diversion’ of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds by the Uttarakhand Forest Department to be of a “trivial” nature after perusing a response from the State that gadgets, including mobile phones, bought with the money was used for “immediate communication” in connection with official duties, including forest patrolling.
SC seeks Uttarakhand Chief Secretary’s response on ‘irregularities’ in CAMPA fund expenditure
A Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai however cautioned the State from repeating the act in future while closing the case. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for Uttarakhand, said action has been initiated against officials in cases of “irregular expenditure.”
The previous hearing saw the apex court seek a response from the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary to allegations based on a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in the public domain that CAMPA funds were misused by the Forest Department to buy gadgets, including iPhones and laptops.
In its order, the Bench, referring to the affidavit filed by the Chief Secretary, said the activities were directly or indirectly related to forestation. The amount alleged to have been spent was only 1.8% of the total funds available.
The court also directed the State to ensure timely deposit of interest with the SCAF (State Compensatory Afforestation Funds) as per the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016. The CAG report had referred to non-payment of interest amounting to ₹275.34 crore between 2019-20 and 2021-22, despite repeated requests from CAMPA authorities.
On March 5, the CAG document and media reports based on it were brought to the notice of the Bench by amicus curiae, senior advocate K. Parameshwar.
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