Goa has earned the dubious distinction of being among four states that have fallen furthest short of its compensatoryafforestationtarget. The state has only carried out 53.9% of what it set out to achieve, putting it in the league of Arunachal Pradesh (53.8%), Jharkhand (54.2%) and Mizoram (31%).
The targets are set by the national compensatory afforestation fund management and planning authority (Campa), which carried out a review on the subject on October 29. Goas less-than-ideal achievement here puts it far behind the national Average of 88%.
The state has carried out afforestation to the extent of 3,541 hectares so far. In 2020-21, Goa spent Rs 23 crore of Campa funds for compensatory afforestation.
The national authority noted that Goa carried out monitoring and evaluation of its afforestation activities under Campa through an independent body, the centre for Environment Education. The audit found that the survival rate of saplings planted for afforestation was 80% in Goa, which was far better than other states.
To be able to achieve the target of zero balance of compensatory afforestation, states have been asked to start work immediately, including that of setting up of nurseries.