The 7^th Meeting of the Governing Body of National CAMPA was held today at CASFOS, Coimbatore, under the chairmanship of Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupendra Yadav. The meeting reviewed the overall performance of National CAMPA and considered several new proposals and initiatives aimed at strengthening compensatory afforestation, forest conservation and wildlife protection across the country. The meeting also witnessed the gracious presence of Union MoS (EFCC), Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, along with senior officers of the Ministry and other members of the Governing Body.

The Governing Body reviewed the progress of Net Present Value (NPV) and Compensatory Afforestation (CA) activities carried out by States and Union Territories, along with the status of CAMPA funds received, approved and transferred during 2025-26. The Body also took note of the Certification Audit of the Annual Accounts of National Authority CAMPA for FY 2024-25, conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) of India, wherein the C&AG has given a true and fair view of the financial position and performance of National Authority CAMPA for the year ended 31st March, 2025.

Reviewing the major digital governance initiatives of National CAMPA, the Governing Body appreciated the operationalisation of the Digital Annual Plan of Operations (Digital APO) for the FY 2026-27 cycle, under which States and UTs are now required to prepare and submit their Annual Plans of Operation exclusively through an online, workflow-enabled system covering proposal creation, verification and approval, backed by integrated dashboards for fund utilisation and plantation performance. Five zonal orientation workshops were held across the West, North-East, South, Central/East and North zones to build capacity among State/UT Forest Departments ahead of the rollout.

The Governing Body also reviewed the establishment of a dedicated Geospatial Monitoring & Evaluation System (GIS Lab) for National Authority CAMPA, a unified, technology-driven framework using satellite imagery, GIS platforms and field verification to enable transparent and scientific monitoring of Compensatory Afforestation, NPV-supported activities and ongoing CAMPA-funded schemes.

Progress on the Harit-SANKALP Portal (System for Accreditation, Nursery Knowledge for Afforestation Linkage Platform), developed in consultation with FAO-India, was also presented. The portal provides unique identification and QR-code-based traceability for seed sources, nurseries and planting material, along with role-based dashboards for real-time monitoring from the National to the Range level, and the Management Information System (MIS) for CAMPA-supported schemes to further enhance transparency and real-time monitoring.

On flagship afforestation and restoration schemes, the Governing Body noted that under MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes), an amount of Rs. 88.40 crore has so far been released for plantation and restoration of mangroves across six States/UTs, with the Governing Body approving a revised outlay and three-year extension of the programme (till 2029) with an additional Rs. 500 crore, taking the overall outlay to Rs. 600 crore under a landscape-based, multi-ecosystem approach to coastal restoration.

Under the Nagar Van Yojana, 652 Nagar Vans/Vatikas have been developed with a release of Rs. 571.50 crore, while Rs. 7.28 crore has been released to ICFRE under the Green Credit Scheme to promote plantation-based green cover expansion. The Governing Body encouraged States and UTs to further scale up these initiatives.

It approved the Aastha Van Sanrakshan Yojana, a new scheme with an initial corpus of Rs. 3,000 crore over five years (2026-27 to 2030-31) for the conservation and restoration of nearly 15,000 sacred groves (Aastha Vans) across the country, along with a new scheme for landscape restoration, combating land degradation and biodiversity loss, to be supported from the National Fund.

The Governing Body approved new wildlife and forestry conservation projects recommended by the Executive Committee of National Authority, including studies on the Conservation and Recovery Action Plan for River Dolphins, Project Snow Leopard Phase-II (including second cycle of population estimation), the Conservation Action Plan for the Indian Rhinoceros, a pan-India conservation approach for the wild Water Buffalo. Further, the GB approved continued support for the conservation of Manipur's Brow-antlered Deer (Sangai).

The meeting reaffirmed National CAMPA's commitment to supporting the conservation and restoration of India's forests through innovative, technology-enabled and community-driven approaches that contribute to ecological security, biodiversity conservation and climate resilience across the country.

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VM

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