Bhubaneswar: In a bid to ensure expeditious clearance of forest land for various development projects, the state government Friday decided to hold weekly review meetings every Tuesday. This was revealed during a review meeting chaired by Forest, Environment and Climate Change department additional chief secretary Satyabrata Sahu Friday. The purpose of the meeting was to address the bottlenecks in the forest land clearance processes. The state government is taking decisive steps to accelerate the clearance of forest land for various development projects by enhancing inter-departmental coordination, said Sahu.
Issues related to 26 major projects, involving stakeholders like Ministry of Railways, Indian Oil Corporation, Ekalabya Model Residential Schools and Odisha Power Transmission Corporation, were discussed during Friday’s meeting. A timeline for resolving issues and ensuring faster approvals was also set during the meeting. The review meet focused on projects spanning across sectors including railways, oil and gas, power transmission, and water resources. “To ensure timely resolution of land issues, the state government has decided to hold weekly meetings every Tuesday, where the progress of both ongoing and upcoming projects will be monitored, and hurdles related to forest land clearance will be addressed,” said Sahu. This proactive approach aims to streamline the approval process for development projects, which often face delays due to complex environmental clearance procedures, and promises to ensure smoother implementation of vital infrastructure initiatives in the state, he added.
