Bhubaneswar, March 24 More than 14,433 hectares of forest land have been diverted for 176 mining projects in Odisha over the past 10 years, Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia told the state Assembly on Tuesday.
During this period, more than 11,214 hectares have been transferred and converted in favor of the Forest department for compensatory afforestation (CA) purposes, of which, CA plantations over 4,228 hectares have been raised, he said in a written reply to a question by MLA Sofia Firdous.
The minister said that the highest 8,676 hectares of forest land were diverted in the Rourkela circle of the department, while 3,794 hectares of forest land were diverted in the Angul circle.
Moreover, 492 hectares of forest land in the Koraput circle, 470 hectares in the Baripada circle, and 0.073 hectares in the Sambalpur circle have been diverted for mining projects during the past decade.
No forest land has been diverted in the Bhubaneswar, Bhawanipatna, and Berhampur circles for mining activities, he added.