BHUBANESWAR: With deadline for the Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project (OFSDP) phase-II scheduled to end in March 2027, the Forest department is planning to submit a proposal to the state government within six months seeking implementation of phase-III of the project.
This was informed to TNIE by additional PCCF and OFSDP project director K Murugesan. He said the department has already started reaching out to the government for the OFSDP phase-III. Phase-II of the project was supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“As the phase-II project will be ending in next 15 months, we are working on preparing a proposal for rollout of OFSDP phase-III and expect to submit it to the state government and Centre within next six months for necessary approval,” Murugesan added.
Under phase-II of the project, the government has reportedly ensured sustainable forest management while ensuring long-term livelihood security to forest fringe communities in more than 1,200 villages. JICA had extended around Rs 1,000 crore loan support for the project implemented in the state from 2017 onwards.
“Considering the success of the ongoing OFSDP-II, we have received positive feedback from JICA for the future project,” Murugesan said.
The Forest department on Wednesday organised a state-level conference ‘Sameekshya 2025’ to deliberate on the achievements of the OFSDP phase-II and brainstorm a strategic way forward to phase-III.
The OFSDP project director said feedback will be collected from stakeholders who participated in Sameekshya 2025, while themes proposed by JICA will also be taken into consideration to finalise the proposal for its submission to the government for OFSDP-III.
He further added that the phase-III of the project will likely be different from the phase-II where the focus was more on joint forest management. “There has been stress on use of digital technology in forest management, large-scale cultivation of wood, agro-forestry as well as wood certification for promotion of environmentally responsible forestry in the future project,” Murugesan said.
PCCF and HoFF Suresh Pant, who addressed the conference, termed OFSDP-II as one of the most successful forest projects in the country. He called for long-term interventions in the next phase of the project for the benefit of forest-fringe dwelling communities. PCCF wildlife Prem Kumar Jha also spoke on long-term livelihood security of forest-fringe communities under the project, while CCF Wildlife Manoj V Nair proposed consideration of human-wildlife conflict management as a component in the upcoming project for the benefit of the forest-fringe dwellers.