RTI for Andhra Pradesh Forest Department — Nagarjunasagar TR, Papikonda, FRA Rights and CAMPA Fund Records

Andhra Pradesh's forests — stretching from the riparian gorges of the Godavari in the east to the Nallamala and Srisailam limestone hills in the centre and the Rayalaseema scrub-forests in the south — are administered by one of India's more complex state forest departments. Created anew after the 2014 bifurcation of the combined Andhra Pradesh, the AP Forest Department now manages forests across fourteen districts, including the AP portion of the world's largest tiger reserve by area, a national park in one of India's deepest river gorges, two sanctuaries protecting critically endangered species, and vast scheduled area forests home to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. Every dimension of this work — encroachment enforcement, Forest Rights Act 2006 implementation, CAMPA fund deployment, and wildlife crime prosecution — generates official records to which citizens, tribal communities, and civil society organisations are entitled under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

This guide explains what information can be obtained from the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department, how to identify the correct CPIO, how to draft and file an effective RTI application, and how to pursue appeals — including through the Andhra Pradesh Information Commission (APIC) at the second appeal stage.

Andhra Pradesh's Forest Governance Structure

The AP Forest Department operates under a vertical hierarchy headquartered at Aranya Bhawan, Tadepalli, Amaravati (Guntur district). The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HoFF) is the apex officer. Below the PCCF sit Additional PCCFs managing specific wings — Wildlife, CAMPA, Social Forestry, Vigilance, and Working Plans — along with Chief Conservators of Forests (CCFs) for territorial circles. Conservators of Forests (CFs) supervise multiple districts, while at the field level the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) is the principal operational officer for each forest division, supported by Range Forest Officers (RFOs), Deputy Range Forest Officers (DRFOs), and Forest Guards.

For protected areas, tiger reserves and national parks are headed by a Field Director (typically a senior IFS officer) with a separate reporting line on Project Tiger and Project Elephant matters. The AP portion of Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve has its own Field Director; Papikonda National Park is administered by a DFO-level officer designated as its Wildlife Warden.

For RTI purposes, the DFO of the relevant forest division is typically the first point of contact — they hold field-level records on encroachment, FRA verification, wildlife incidents, and CAMPA works. For state-level data, CAMPA policy, or wildlife headquarters records, file with the CPIO at the PCCF's office, Aranya Bhawan, Tadepalli, Amaravati.

Post-2014 Bifurcation: AP and Telangana's Separate Forest Hierarchies

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, divided the combined Andhra Pradesh into two separate states with effect from 2 June 2014. The forest estate was also divided along the new state boundary, creating two entirely independent forest departments. The most consequential example is the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve — a single contiguous forest landscape of over 3,700 sq km (making it the world's largest tiger reserve by total area) that is now split: the AP portion (in Nandyal, Prakasam, and Guntur districts) is managed by the AP Forest Department under a separate Field Director, while the Telangana portion (in Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar districts) is managed by the Telangana Forest Department under a separate hierarchy.

This has practical consequences for RTI filings. There is no longer a single unified CPIO responsible for the whole reserve. If you want records from the AP side — tiger deaths, encroachment cases, CAMPA utilisation, or FRA claims in Nandyal or Prakasam districts — file with the AP Forest Department. If you want records from the Telangana side, file separately with the Telangana Forest Department; second appeals from Telangana forest RTIs go to the Telangana State Information Commission (TSIC), not to APIC. Do not expect a single application to yield records straddling both sides of the state boundary.

What Forest Department Records Are Available via RTI?

Tiger Reserve Records: Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam (AP Portion)

The AP portion of Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve covers the Nallamala forest landscape — one of India's oldest and most intact deciduous forest tracts, spread across the limestone plateau of the Srisailam reservoir catchment. It is home to the Chenchu people, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) whose ancestral habitation within the tiger reserve predates the wildlife protection framework. RTI to the Field Director's office (AP side) can obtain:

• The estimated tiger population from the most recent All India Tiger Estimation camera trap exercise for the AP portion
• Tiger death records: natural mortality, poaching, electrocution, vehicle incidents — including post-mortem report numbers and FIR details
• Human–wildlife conflict incident records in the buffer zone, including the status of ex-gratia payments to affected families and farmers
• Relocation or eco-development committee (EDC) activities within the core zone, including expenditure and progress reports
• Records of any anti-poaching operations, wildlife crime cases, and inter-state coordination with the Telangana Forest Department for the shared landscape

Papikonda National Park: Godavari Gorge Forest Records

Papikonda National Park — covering 1,012 sq km of the East and West Godavari districts in the deep gorge of the upper Godavari river — is one of India's most ecologically intact national parks, difficult to access by road and consequently less surveilled by the public. The park harbours Indian gaur, wild boar, leopard, sloth bear, mugger crocodiles, and a rich assemblage of endemic Eastern Ghats flora. It is also adjacent to tribal communities in the East Godavari Agency area. RTI to the Wildlife Warden's office (Papikonda NP) can obtain:

• Wildlife population survey or camera trap data
• Wildlife death and incident records
• Eco-tourism visitor admission records and revenue
• Status of any infrastructure or development proposals within or adjoining the park
• Eco-development committee records and tribal community interface proceedings

Sri Lankamalleswara WLS: Long-Billed Vulture Breeding Records

Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary in YSR Kadapa district is designated specifically for the conservation of the Long-billed Vulture (Gyps indicus), a critically endangered species that breeds on the exposed limestone cliffs of the Lankamalleswara hills. This is one of only a handful of breeding colonies of this species remaining in peninsular India. RTI can yield: the number of active nest sites and breeding pairs surveyed in the most recent season; the number of fledglings recorded; any threats to the colony (quarrying, chemical pesticide poisoning via livestock carcasses, disturbance); and the status of any Protected Area boundary notification or core zone protection measures.

Rollapadu WLS: Great Indian Bustard Records

Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary in Kurnool district is one of the last known refuges of the Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), India's most endangered large bird and a Schedule I species. The Great Indian Bustard's population in AP has declined precipitously due to habitat change, agricultural expansion, and powerline collisions. RTI to the DFO-Wildlife (Kurnool) can obtain: the annual bird count of Great Indian Bustards within the sanctuary; records of bird deaths (powerline collision, predation, other); the status of any overhead powerline diversion or undergrounding proposals submitted by the Forest Department to the relevant electricity authority; and the records of anti-encroachment measures within the sanctuary.

Koundinya WLS: Asian Elephant and Human–Elephant Conflict Records

Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary in Chittoor district is AP's only designated elephant reserve and experiences significant human–elephant conflict at its fringes with agricultural land. RTI to the DFO (Wildlife), Chittoor, can yield: the estimated elephant population within and around the sanctuary; the number of human–elephant conflict incidents recorded per year (crop raiding, property damage, human injury or death); the number of elephant deaths (natural, electrocution, suspected poisoning, railway strike); the status of ex-gratia payments to affected households; and any elephant corridor delineation or protection plans.

Forest Encroachment Action Taken Reports (ATRs)

Forest encroachment — illegal occupation or cultivation of reserved forest or protected forest land — is a persistent issue across AP's forest districts, particularly in the East and West Godavari Agency areas (where agricultural expansion into reserve forest is widespread), the Vishakhapatnam Agency, and the Nallamala fringe in Nandyal and Prakasam districts. Under the applicable provisions of the AP Forest Act and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the DFO is required to detect encroachments, issue notice, and take eviction and prosecution action. RTI can obtain: the total number of encroachment cases in a specific division and year; the compartment numbers and area involved; the category of encroachment; the action taken (notices issued, areas cleared, prosecutions filed); and the current status of each case in court or departmental proceedings.

Forest Rights Act 2006: Tribal Claim Verification Records

In AP's scheduled areas — particularly East Godavari, West Godavari, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Parvathipuram Manyam, and Vishakhapatnam districts — the FRA 2006 implementation process involves the Forest Department submitting a field verification report to the SDLC and DLC for each individual and community claim. In practice, claims of Koya, Kondareddi, Chenchu, Kondh, Savara, and Bagata communities have often been stalled because Forest Department field verification reports are delayed, incomplete, or converted into informal objections that are never formally placed before the DLC.

RTI to the DFO's office can surface: the field verification report for a specific claim number; whether any written objection was filed and the specific grounds cited; the date the report was forwarded to the SDLC; and division-level FRA claim statistics for the Forest Department's verification role. For Chenchu communities within Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam TR, where Forest Department objections carry particular weight given the Tiger Reserve context, RTI records are often the only documentary basis on which a DLC can evaluate the legitimacy of a Forest Department stance.

CAMPA Fund Utilisation Records

The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) collects funds from project proponents who divert forest land for non-forest use under the Forest Conservation Act, and those funds must be deployed for afforestation, wildlife management, and forest protection in the state. AP receives significant CAMPA allocations annually. RTI can obtain: the total CAMPA funds received by a specific division or the state as a whole; the works and schemes executed (plantation areas, protection works, waterholes, anti-poaching camps, wildlife corridors); the expenditure under each head; the GPS-mapped plantation locations; survival audit findings; and whether any CAMPA funds lapsed or were diverted. The utilisation certificates submitted by DFOs to the State CAMPA Authority are official records fully disclosable under the RTI Act.

Wildlife Crime Records

The AP Forest Department's wildlife crime enforcement arm registers cases under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, for offences including poaching of tigers, leopards, Great Indian Bustards, long-billed vultures, elephants, and other Schedule I species; illegal wildlife trade; snare laying; and forest produce smuggling. RTI can obtain: the number of FIRs filed in a given year by division; the species involved; the nature of the offence; the number of accused arrested; the stage of prosecution; and the custody records of confiscated wildlife trophies and articles held by the Chief Wildlife Warden's office.

How to Identify the Correct CPIO

The AP Forest Department has SPIOs/CPIOs designated at each office level:

• For encroachment ATRs, FRA verification records, CAMPA works, and wildlife incidents in a specific division: file with the CPIO, DFO's office, for the relevant forest division (e.g., Nandyal, Kurnool, East Godavari, West Godavari, Chittoor, YSR Kadapa).
• For Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam TR (AP portion) records (tiger census, tiger deaths, human–wildlife conflict, Chenchu FRA matters): file with the CPIO, Field Director's office, Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (AP), Nandyal or the designated Field Director's headquarters.
• For Papikonda National Park: file with the CPIO, Wildlife Warden / DFO (Wildlife), East Godavari.
• For Rollapadu WLS (Great Indian Bustard): file with the CPIO, DFO (Wildlife), Kurnool.
• For Koundinya WLS (elephant): file with the CPIO, DFO (Wildlife), Chittoor.
• For Sri Lankamalleswara WLS (vultures): file with the CPIO, DFO (Wildlife), YSR Kadapa.
• For Nelapattu and Pulicat bird sanctuaries: file with the CPIO, DFO (Wildlife), Nellore / SPNR Nellore.
• For state-level CAMPA utilisation, wildlife headquarters records, or aggregated statewide data: file with the CPIO, PCCF's office, Aranya Bhawan, Tadepalli, Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh.

If you are uncertain about the correct division, file with the PCCF's office, which is required under Section 6(3) of the RTI Act to transfer your application to the appropriate CPIO within 5 days.

How to File RTI with the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department

Step 1: Draft Your Application

Use the sample RTI above as a base. Be precise about the forest division, district, financial year, and (for encroachment queries) the compartment number. Separate each request into a numbered point — vague or bundled requests are more easily evaded. For CAMPA queries, specify the financial year range. For FRA queries, include the claim number and the claimant's name wherever possible.

Step 2: File Online or by Post

Andhra Pradesh state public authorities, including all AP Forest Department offices, are accessible through the central RTI portal at rtionline.gov.in, which allows online payment of the ₹10 fee and online tracking. You may also file a physical application by registered post addressed to the CPIO of the relevant DFO's or PCCF's office. BPL cardholders are exempt from the application fee; attach a self-attested copy of your BPL card.

Step 3: Track the Timeline

Under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, the CPIO must respond within 30 days of receipt. If the information concerns the life or liberty of a person, the response is due within 48 hours (Section 7(1) proviso). Keep the acknowledgement number from your filing.

Step 4: First and Second Appeals

If the Forest Department does not respond within 30 days, or provides an incomplete or evasive response:

• First Appeal under Section 19(1): File with the First Appellate Authority (FAA) designated in the AP Forest Department — typically the Conservator of Forests (CF) of the relevant circle for a DFO-level RTI, or a senior officer designated by the PCCF for PCCF-level RTIs. File within 30 days of the date of decision or expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable. No fee is required.
• Second Appeal under Section 19(3): If the FAA's response is absent or unsatisfactory, file with the Andhra Pradesh Information Commission (APIC) within 90 days of the FAA's decision or the expiry of the FAA's response period. No fee is payable. The APIC can order the department to furnish the information and impose a penalty of ₹250 per day (up to ₹25,000 maximum) on the CPIO personally under Section 20 of the RTI Act for delay or denial without reasonable cause.

Jurisdictional Note: APIC — Not CIC

The AP Forest Department is entirely a state public authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005. This means:

• All First Appeals go to the FAA within the AP Forest Department.
• All Second Appeals go to the Andhra Pradesh Information Commission (APIC) — constituted under Section 15 of the RTI Act as AP's State Information Commission.
• The Central Information Commission (CIC) has no jurisdiction over the AP Forest Department, AP CAMPA authority, or any field office of the AP Forest Department.

A common source of confusion: the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) are Central Government bodies under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change — RTI filed with them would have second appeals to the CIC. But the Field Director, Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam TR (AP), and the Wildlife Warden, Papikonda NP, are AP state authority officers — second appeal for their RTI responses goes to APIC, not CIC. Similarly, Telangana Forest Department RTI second appeals go to the Telangana State Information Commission (TSIC), not APIC. Always verify which state authority's CPIO you are addressing before deciding on the appellate forum.

Practical Tips for an Effective AP Forest RTI

• For Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam TR, specify the AP portion explicitly. Since the reserve straddles two states, your RTI must clearly state "Andhra Pradesh portion" and reference the AP-side divisional jurisdiction to avoid confusion or misdirection.
• For FRA claims in scheduled areas, ask for both the field verification report and the forwarding note. The most probative FRA RTI asks not only for the field verification report but also for the official letter by which the DFO's office forwarded the report to the SDLC — this establishes the date of forwarding and enables calculation of delay at each tier.
• For Rollapadu WLS Great Indian Bustard RTIs, also ask about powerline diversion proposals. Overhead powerlines in the Kurnool agricultural landscape are a primary collision threat to the bustard; RTI asking for the Forest Department's correspondence with the electricity distribution company regarding powerline undergrounding or diversion reveals whether the department is acting on this known threat.
• Request CAMPA plantation GPS coordinates and survival audit findings. CAMPA plantation RTIs are most powerful when they ask not just for the planted area and expenditure, but for the GPS-mapped plantation boundary and the most recent survival audit percentage — these two data points together reveal whether the plantation was genuinely executed.
• For Papikonda NP infrastructure queries, include a request for the status of any development proposals submitted to or cleared by the National Board for Wildlife or the Standing Committee of the NBWL, since the park's inaccessibility has historically shielded it from scrutiny.
• For Koundinya WLS elephant conflict RTIs, also request the Forest Department's correspondence with the Andhra Pradesh Transco/Discom regarding electrocution incidents — elephant electrocution deaths are frequently caused by live electric fences or low-hanging wires, and the Forest Department's letters to the electricity authority are official records that RTI can surface.