Forest fix

a recent Supreme Court (sc) order on monetary compensation for a forest that is cut for non-forest purposes has raised more questions than it answers. Is the Central fund that an earlier order wanted set up to collect this money even constitutionally acceptable? What are the custodial arrangements to set up the Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (campa), the body that will control these funds?

"The order does not properly address the issues I raised in court,' says constitutional lawyer K K Venugopal, referring to an earlier hearing in May 2005. Arguing on Kerala's behalf, he had said since campa lacked the authority of a law passed in Parliament