Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) stated that it has collected over Rs. 50,000 crore in a central Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF).
This fund is to be used through the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016 or CAF, a purported mechanism to offset forest loss.
It is issued before issuing forest clearances to a mine, dam or industry, the Ministry fixes a monetary value for the forest that is to be destroyed and collects this as “compensation”. The funds are to be then used to “afforest” alternative land.
The fund’s growth over the past decade is a measure of the ....
