The Supreme Court on Tuesday criticised the Centre for allegedly misusing Rs one lakh crore worth of funds that were allocated to protect the environment, PTI reported. The bench said the Compensatory Afforestation Funds Management and Planning Authority was utilising the money as it wanted and not how the court had asked it to.

“We are being befooled by the executive,” the news agency quoted the bench as saying. The bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said that the court had ordered the funds to be collected to protect the environment. “It is very clear that the amount was used for purposes other than what it was entrusted,” the bench said.

The court said around Rs 11,700 crore was lying with the Supreme Court-ordered Compensatory Afforestation Funds Management and Planning Authority, PTI reported. The court ordered the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to specify how it planned to utilise the funds lying with the authority, estimated at around Rs 11,700 crore. The court scheduled the next hearing for May 9.