Bhubaneswar: Over 14,400 hectares of forest land have been diverted for mining projects in Odisha over the past decade, the state’s Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia informed the Assembly on Tuesday.
In a written reply to a query by MLA Sofia Firdous, the minister said a total of 14,433 hectares of forest land were cleared for 176 mining projects across the state during the last 10 years.
To offset the ecological impact, more than 11,214 hectares have been transferred and mutated in favour of the Forest department for compensatory afforestation (CA). Of this, plantation activities have been carried out over 4,228 hectares so far, he added.
Region-wise, the highest diversion of forest land was reported in the Rourkela circle, accounting for 8,676 hectares, followed by 3,794 hectares in the Angul circle.
Other forest circles saw comparatively lower diversion, with 492 hectares in Koraput, 470 hectares in Baripada, and a marginal 0.073 hectares in Sambalpur earmarked for mining projects during the same period.
The minister further clarified that no forest land was diverted for mining in the Bhubaneswar, Bhawanipatna and Berhampur circles over the past decade.
