PANJIM: Even as forest department is bracing up to clear a backlog of afforesting 2300 hectares of degraded land pending since 2004 under Compensatory Afforestration Fund Management Authority (CAMPA), the non availability of degraded land has created impediment for the officials.

Forest department officials said that the state has good forest cover making it difficult to get the degraded woods, which are essential for afforestration under CAMPA. Union government’s ambitious scheme seems to have been jinxed right from its announcement in the state. The Centre had held back the amount since 2004 till 2009-10 due the petition pending in the Supreme Court.