Bhubaneswar, Sep 10: In a colossal waste of green cover, more than 26.75 lakh trees were felled in Odisha from 2000 to 2023 for the execution of 482 projects in various sectors, Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister, Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia told the State Assembly on Tuesday.

The State has felled 25,75,191 trees from 2000 to 2023 for the execution of 482 projects including mining, roads, irrigation and railways, the Minister said.

As many as 9.64 lakh trees were felled for undertaking 225 mining projects, while 5.99 lakh trees were cut down for the construction of 43 road projects and 4.89 lakh trees were felled for 45 irrigation projects during the period.

Similarly, 3 lakh trees were felled for the establishment of 18 industrial projects and 1.39 lakh trees for 58 power infrastructure projects, he stated.

Besides, 29 railway lines and 64 other projects were built after cutting down 82,076 and 99,741 trees, respectively.

A maximum of 28,367 hectares of forest land have been diverted for mining activities during the period, and 5,480 hectares for irrigation projects.

For carrying out power transmission projects, the state has diverted 2,388 hectares of forest land while 1,819 and 1,628 hectares of forest land have been diverted for execution of industrial and road projects, respectively.

Over 5,480 hectares of forest land have been diverted for irrigation projects and 1,352 hectares for various other projects, the minister informed the House.

As per the Forest Survey of India (FSI)-1999 report, Odisha had a forest cover of 47,033 sq km which increased to 52,156 sq km in the FSI-2021 report, he added.

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