The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed that ₹13.86 crore from the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) was misused between 2019 and 2022 for purposes unrelated to afforestation. According to the report, the funds were diverted at the divisional level for projects such as tiger safaris, legal fees, personal travel, and the purchase of iPhones, laptops, kitchen appliances, and office supplies.

Additionally, ₹56.97 lakh was redirected to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project for tax payments, ₹13.51 lakh was spent on solar fencing at Almora's forest office, and ₹6.54 lakh meant for awareness campaigns was used to set up an office for the Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF), Vigilance, and Legal Cell.

The report also raised concerns about the unauthorized use of forest land, violating Forest Conservation (FC) guidelines. CAMPA funds are intended to ensure that when forest land is used for non-forest purposes, such as infrastructure projects, an equivalent area is afforested.

However, in 37 cases, afforestation efforts were delayed by eight years after approval, resulting in a cost hike of ₹11.5 crore. Furthermore, the overall survival rate of plantations was reported at 33.51%, significantly lower than the 60-65% benchmark set by the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun.

A review of the annual plan of operation (APOs) of selected Forest Divisions highlighted that state funding for forestry activities had decreased while CAMPA funds were increasingly used to cover these expenses. CAMPA funding is meant to supplement, not replace, state government funding for forestry initiatives.

However, the report noted that the state had shifted financial responsibilities for activities such as meadow protection, soil and water conservation, strengthening Van Panchayats, and the construction and maintenance of forest roads onto CAMPA funds. As a result, expenditure on relevant state schemes dropped by 16.81% between 2019-20 and 2021-22, while CAMPA expenditure surged by 379.63%.

Environmental activist Ajay Singh Rawat expressed concern over the findings, stating that with no significant increase in forest cover over the years, diverting funds meant for afforestation is a serious issue. He urged the state government to investigate the misuse of funds and unauthorized diversion of forest land. Calling forests the main wealth of Uttarakhand, he emphasized that any action threatening this resource should be taken seriously. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s Office had yet to respond to inquiries at the time of publication.