Efforts on to obtain clearances for proposed Puri airport: Govt source
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A govt spokesperson said the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) recommended environmental clearance (EC) for the airport project at the June 26 meeting. He said the govt has already begun its exercise to meet the requirements to obtain clearance from the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC).
"Obtaining environmental clearance can help us sail through other processes like forest, wildlife and coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) clearance.
EC is just one step towards floating a request for proposal (RFP). Meanwhile, other mandatory compliances will be looked into involving appropriate agency/agencies to go ahead with the project," a govt spokesperson said.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) granted site clearance for the proposed greenfield airport on Sept 22, 2023. On May 6, the Centre, in principle, accorded permission to take the project further.
Officials said the forest land diversion proposal is now under consideration by the Centre. On June 24, the FAC of MoEFCC sought additional inputs, including a wildlife conservation plan and mitigation measures for ecologically sensitive species such as Olive Ridley turtles, dolphins and migratory birds. "The Wildlife Institute of India has been consulted to prepare the conservation plan and study FAC's objections," the spokesperson said.
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The WII's study will focus on migratory bird routes and the possible impact on Olive Ridley turtles and Irrawaddy dolphins close to the airport site at Brahmagiri. FAC also highlighted environmental concerns about the planned cutting of 13,000 trees currently serving as a bio-shield and coastal shelter.
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