Bhubaneswar: The fifth meeting of the State Wetlands Authority, Odisha, was held on Saturday at Lok Seva Bhavan under the chairmanship of Minister, Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia.
The meeting was attended by Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma, Principal Secretary, Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department, K. Murugesan, PCCF & HoFF, Odisha, Prem Kumar Jha, PCCF (Wildlife) & CWLW, along with representatives of the concerned departments, Chilika Development Authority (CDA), State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), Odisha Biodiversity Board and Odisha Space Applications Centre (ORSAC).
The Authority deliberated on the constitution of dedicated District Wetland Committees chaired by Collectors, with the concerned DFOs as Member-Conveners. Minister also urged the Department to expedite processing of proposals relating to wetlands.
The Authority considered OPGC’s 1,320 MW IB Thermal expansion, GRIDCO’s floating solar projects at Hirakud (approximately 3,500 MW) and Upper Indravati (225 MW, Phase-I), and OPGC’s 10 MW intake-channel floating solar project with 2 MW/8 MWh battery storage.
The deliberations focused on wetland conservation, ecological safeguards and compliance with applicable statutory provisions.
