CUTTACK: Acting on a petition alleging large-scale violation of environmental laws for establishment of the proposed Shree Jagannath International Airport at Puri, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to both the Centre and state government.
The bench comprising judicial member Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad has also issued notice to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Civil Aviation, state Commerce and Transport department, Forest and Environment department, collector and DFO of Puri. They have been directed to file their responses within four weeks. The next hearing is scheduled for October 10.
A group of residents of Puri, led by one Surendra Tapasu, have approached the NGT seeking an immediate halt to the ongoing construction activities for the airport. They alleged large-scale ecological violations, including indiscriminate tree felling and construction in an ecologically sensitive zone without mandatory clearances.
Advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy, appearing for the petitioners, sought an interim stay on all ongoing work, including the construction of the approach road, boundary wall and stockyard until the matter is fully adjudicated. The petition also called for an independent expert committee to assess the damage caused by the project and its potential long-term impact on the coastal ecosystem.
The petition challenged the legality of the construction in Sipasarubali Mouza, arguing that it lacks Environmental Clearance (EC), Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance, and Forest Clearance (FC). The project area includes 471.401 hectare, of which 27.887 ha is DLC forest land with 13,504 trees, many of which were part of coastal shelterbelt plantations designed to protect the region from cyclonic impacts.
According to the site inspection report by the regional office of MoEFCC in Bhubaneswar, the plantations including cashew and casuarina trees act as vital bioshields. Their removal, the report warned, could increase vulnerability to frequent cyclones and harm nearby coastal villages, they alleged.
The petitioners also raised concerns about the site’s proximity to ecologically-sensitive areas, including the Balukhand Wildlife Sanctuary (home to blackbucks), nesting sites of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles and the dolphin habitats along the coastline. Additionally, the project may affect the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) near Chilika lake, a critical migratory bird route.
The petition also alleged that the area was earlier marked as a green zone in the Puri-Konark Master Plan but was recently rezoned as a “Tourist Infrastructure Zone” to facilitate the airport project, ignoring long-term environmental consequences.