Puri airport project receives environmental and CRZ clearances

The proposed Shree Jagannath International Airport in Puri has received final environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This development removes a significant hurdle for the greenfield airport project planned at Sipasarubali in the Puri district.

The project covers approximately 471.348 hectares. Following these clearances, the Odisha government is expected to seek a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the relevant ministry and coordinate with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR).

Earlier, the project received in-principle forest approval for the diversion of roughly 27.887 hectares of forest land within the Puri Wildlife Division. This approval requires the implementation of wildlife protection measures and management plans developed in accordance with recommendations from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Zoological Survey of India.