Puri: The Union government has reportedly granted Stage-I (in-principle) approval for diversion of forest land for the proposed international airport in Puri.
In a notification, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) said the Odisha government’s proposal was cleared under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, after being examined by the Centre’s Advisory Committee.
The approval permits diversion of 27.887 hectares of DLC forest land under the Puri Forest Division for construction of the proposed Shree Jagannath International Airport in Puri district.
Officials said the Stage-I clearance is subject to conditions that must be met before the project secures final Stage-II approval. The proposed airport, under discussion for several years, had earlier been submitted by the state government for forest clearance. With the Stage-I nod in place, the project moves closer to implementation.
