BENGALURU: Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Wednesday said the department has requested the chief minister to allocate 1% of the total state budget for forests and environment. “The wildlife population in the state is increasing, but not the forest area. To address this and to increase the green cover, a lot of fund is required,” he told reporters.
The state budget for the coming fiscal is estimated to be around Rs 4.5 lakh crore. “We have sought for Rs 4,500 crore in the budget. This is because around 60% is utilised in administrative work like paying salaries. We also need around Rs 1,000 crore for conflict mitigation efforts and another Rs 500 crore for the immediate relocation of tribals and forest dwellers,” he said.
Khandre stressed that one of the reasons for man-animal conflicts is the reduction in forest areas. “There is a need to relocate tribals. In Kudremukh Wildlife Sanctuary alone, 300 families have given their in-principal approval to relocate. For this, the department requires Rs 300 crore. Forest dwellers and tribals in other forest patches have also been listed for relocation, but funds are required,” he said.
The tribal and rural development departments have said that they have no funds for this. Thus the forest department has sought Rs 500 crore under CAMPA from the central government, he added. Khandre said to address these issues and ensure better utilisation of funds, a high-level meeting will soon be held with ministers of energy, tribal welfare, rural and revenue departments.
The department is also ensuring that compensation is immediately released to people. This fiscal alone the government handed over Rs 60 crore to farmers as crop compensation. “We have no pending dues for crop or life loss. Now to ensure that mitigation is addressed, more funds are required and so a larger allocation for the department has been sought for in the budget,” Khandre said.