The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has approved the diversion of 1,524.17 hectare of forest land for the construction of an irrigation project in Odisha's Nayagarh district, officials said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said the state government has been waiting for the approval from the Centre for the last 30 years.
After the completion of the Brutanga project, irrigation facilities can be provided to 23,000 hectares of land, it said.
"On the basis of the compliance report furnished by the state government... final approval of central government under Section 2 of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 is hereby granted for non-forestry use of 1524.17 hectares of forest land for construction of Brutanga irrigation project," read a letter issued by Assistant Inspector General of Forests Dheeraj Mittal on Monday.
As per the conditions set by the MoEF for the approval, the legal status of the diverted forest land shall remain .
