A view of the Supreme Court of India. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
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.
“The CAMPA fund is to be utilised for increasing the green cover. Utilisation of the same for non-admissible activities and not depositing the interest as per the Act with the SCAF (State Compensatory Afforestation Funds) is a matter of serious concern,” the court had recorded in its March 5 order.
The CAG had reportedly referred to the State’s CAMPA expenditure for 2019-2022 and mentioned purported unauthorised purchases of iPhones, laptops, fridges, coolers, and office renovations. Funds were also reportedly used for fighting court cases and personal expenses, it was reported. The report had said the State government had acknowledged the issue and claimed that ₹150 crore of the interest liability was deposited in July 2023.
Published – March 19, 2025 03:30 pm IST