Bhubaneswar: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has granted a pivotal Stage-I forest clearance for the construction of the Shree Jagannath International(SJI) Airport in Puri, Odisha. This in-principle approval covers the diversion of 27.887 hectares of DLC forest land within the Puri Forest Division, clearing a significant regulatory runway for the ambitious infrastructure project.
Shri N.B.S. Rajput, Principal Secretary of Commerce and Transport, expressed satisfaction with the development, which marks a major milestone in Odisha’s efforts to enhance its aerial connectivity and tourism infrastructure. The project, tracked under proposal number FP/OR/Airport/426096/2023, was examined and recommended by the Advisory Committee on February 27, 2026, before receiving the formal nod from the central government.
The clearance comes with a comprehensive set of operational and environmental mandates. To offset the ecological footprint, compensatory afforestation will be carried out over 29.939 hectares of non-forest land in the Kakatpur Tahasil, alongside the enrichment of an additional 59.52 hectares of degraded forest land. The user agency is also required to facilitate the translocation of identified trees where feasible and establish artificial nesting habitats for local avifauna to mitigate the impact on regional biodiversity.
From an aviation planning perspective, the conditions specify that felling is to be restricted primarily to built-up areas, with the user agency mandated to maintain natural forests along arterial roads and ensure the free movement of animals in non-fenced zones. Furthermore, the State Government must ensure that all mitigation measures from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Zoological Survey of India are strictly implemented.
While this Stage-I clearance allows the project to move forward with planning and pre-construction compliance, the official transfer of forest land will remain pending until a final Stage-II approval is granted. This final authorization is contingent upon the fulfillment of all stipulated conditions, including the payment of the Net Present Value of the forest land and the mutation of non-forest land in favor of the State Forest Department.