NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has held that except for government projects such as hospitals, dispensaries and schools, for all other projects undertaken by clearing forest lands, the user agency should pay Net Present Value to the Union Government by way of compensation for loss of forest wealth.

A three-Judge Bench, comprising Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S.H. Kapadia, passed this order while dealing with the issue of conservation, preservation and protection of forests and ecology.

The Bench upheld the Centre's notification constituting the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) for the purpose of management of money for compensatory afforestation.

The Bench said environmental protection cut across all sectors of development. The increase in greenhouse gases, land degradation, deterioration of eco-systems, deforestation, loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution were of serious global concern.

Writing the judgment, Justice Sabharwal said utmost attention had to be accorded to conservation of natural resources and improvement of the status of the environment. Further, the fragile eco-systems should be properly managed in order to safeguard the livelihood of millions of people and the national development agenda must recognise the necessity of protecting long-term ecological security.

Expert committee

The Bench ordered the constitution of an expert committee within a month to be appointed by the Institution of Economic Growth (north campus) to identify and define parameters on the basis of which the value of each of the categories of forest lands should be estimated; to formulate a practical methodology to differentiate bio-geographical zones of India for estimation of the values; to determine who should pay the costs of restoration and/or compensation with regard to each category and which projects deserved to be exempted from payment of NPV.

The Bench made it clear that the NPV amounts should be used for ecological plans, to protect the environment and for regeneration of forest and maintenance of ecological balance and eco-systems. The payment of NPV was for the protection of the environment and not in relation to any propriety rights and it should be worked out on economic principles.

On the demand from States that they should be given a share of the NPV, the Bench said that the 12th Finance Commission had allotted Rs. 1,000 crores for the period 2005-2010 to the States and hence it would not be open to the States to contend that the NPA paid by the user agency should be handed over to them.

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