Odisha Pushes Faster Forest Clearances to Speed Up Key Infrastructure Projects

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to accelerate the execution of major national and state infrastructure projects, the Department of Forest, Environment & Climate Change (FE&CC), Government of Odisha, on Saturday held its monthly high-level coordination meeting to fast-track the processing of Forest Diversion Proposals.

The meeting, chaired by Principal Secretary FE&CC Sri Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma, focused on ensuring time-bound clearances for projects being monitored under the PRAGATI and Project Monitoring Group (PMG) platforms, in line with the directives of both the Government of India and the State Government to eliminate procedural delays.

A detailed review was undertaken of several high-impact projects across critical sectors. These included 4G saturation initiatives by BSNL and Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), along with key transport and energy infrastructure projects implemented by Indian Railways, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL).

The review also covered the status of forest diversion proposals linked to major mineral and industrial projects being executed by leading companies such as Tata Steel Limited, Rungta Mines, Dalmia Cement, Mundra Alumina, Vedanta, Kashvi Power & Steel, Trustline Mining, Bhushan Power and Kundan Goldmines.

Noting the progress achieved over the past month, the Principal Secretary outlined a clear roadmap for completion of pending activities and urged all stakeholders to adhere strictly to the timelines agreed upon during the meeting. He called upon the Nodal Officer (Forest Conservation Act), Regional Chief Conservators of Forests (RCCFs), Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) and User Agencies to work in close coordination to ensure smooth and timely processing of proposals.

Officials were also directed to proactively guide User Agencies in filing Forest Diversion Proposals and to ensure identification of suitable Compensatory Afforestation (CA) land within stipulated timelines to avoid bottlenecks.

The meeting was attended by Regional CCFs, DFOs and representatives of User Agencies through virtual mode, reflecting a concerted effort by the state to streamline environmental clearances while facilitating infrastructure-led growth in Odisha.