Bhubaneswar: The Central government on Saturday granted in-principle (Stage-I) forest clearance for the proposed Shree Jagannath International Airport project in Puri district.
The approval has been issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under Section 2 (1) (ii) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, following examination of the proposal submitted by the Odisha government.
As per official communication, the clearance allows diversion of 27.887 hectares of DLC forest land under the Puri Forest Division for the airport project.
The proposal was reviewed by the Advisory Committee constituted under the Act on February 27, 2026. Based on its recommendations, and with approval from the competent authority, the Centre accorded Stage-I clearance subject to stipulated conditions.
The project falls under the jurisdiction of the government of Odisha, which had sought prior approval for the use of forest land for the proposed airport.
Further clearances and compliance with specified conditions will be required before final approval for the diversion of forest land is granted.
