Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Odisha’s Forest, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia informed the state Assembly on Tuesday that during the past ten years, 14,433 hectares of forest land had been diverted for 176 mining projects.
Singkhuntia stated in a written response to MLA Sofia Firdous’ inquiry that 11,214 hectares had been transferred and modified in favor of the Forest department for compensatory afforestation (CA) reasons, of which 4,228 hectares had been planted with CA.
Over the previous ten years, the department has diverted up to 8,676 hectares of forest land for mining operations in the Rourkela circle, 3,794 hectares in the Angul circle, 492 hectares in the Koraput circle, 470 hectares in the Baripada circle, and 0.073 hectares in the Sambalpur circle. The minister further stated that no forest land in the areas of Bhubaneswar, Bhawanipatna, and Berhampur had been taken over for mining operations.
