Not much for greenery
There is mixed official opinion on the budgetary allocation for environment, which shows an increase of Rs 40 crore over the previous year's amount of Rs 329.81 crore. But, says Vinay Shankar, additional secretary, MEF, "The real increase this year is by about Rs 66 crore. We should take into account the Rs 26 crore the MEF transferred to the ministry of rural development last year." Nonetheless, the finance minister has not been very generous to the MEF. While the overall plan outlay has increased by about 32 per cent, the step-up in MEF's outlay is only 20 per cent after taking the Rs 26 crore sum into account.
Officials speculate funds for afforestation may have actually shrunk after the afforestation programme was restructured last year, transferring non-forest wastelands to the ministry of rural development. The share of the National Afforestation and Ecodevelopment Board under the MEF, the major agency for plantation activities in forest wastelands, has been reduced from Rs 115 crore to Rs 98 crore, say MEF officials. JRY allocation for afforestation will go up slightly in 1993-94 because of the hefty increase in total JRY funds.
Externally aided forestry projects of state governments, a major source of funds for afforestation, are not reflected in the central budget. But, Jaswant Singh, chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on environment, apprehends that a large part of the external aid may remain underutilised. The matching rupees needed to complement the aid might not be within the means of the state governments.
One fallout of this, as evident in some states, will be the transfer of funds from other forestry projects to externally aided projects to speed up reimbursement.