The Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik today urged the Centre to place the entire amount deposited by the state with the Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) at the disposal of the state government.
The state government should also be permitted to retain collections on account of the compensatory afforastation and net present value of diverted forest land. Addressing the national conference of state ministers of environment and forests chaired by the Prime minister in New Delhi, Patnaik sought special dispensation and higher devolution of financial resources to the forest rich states like Orissa.
Expressing his concern over the idle accumulation of funds with the adhoc CAMPA account by the Union ministry of environment and forests, he said, the Orissa government has already deposited more than Rs 1350 crore in the account since 2004-05. An institutional mechanism has been put in place by the state government for this purpose and a five year action plan has been formulated for utilisation of Rs 1379 crore in the next five years. Considering the largest diversity of mangrove forests in Orissa, the chief minister suggested for the establishment of a National Institute of Mangrove Research in the state.