Odisha to prepare wildlife management plan for coal bearing areas
Odisha to prepare wildlife management plan for coal bearing areas
admin
Bhubaneswar: In order to minimise the negative effects of mining, the Odisha government on Saturday ordered the officials to hasten the creation of an extensive wildlife management plan for the newly allocated coal block areas.
The instruction was delivered by the Chief Secretary S. C. Mahapatra during a high-level meeting held through hybrid mode from the conference room of Lokseba Bhawan while reviewing the progress of forest clearing and wildlife management in newly allocated coal block areas of the Angul district.
An official statement stated that Additional Chief Secretary for Forest and Environment Satyabrata Sahu laid forth the topics for consideration in the meeting.
The meeting's discussions revealed that the major areas including Utkal E coal, Radhikapur East coal, Radhikapur West coal, and Naini coal blocks were among the recently allocated coal blocks.
According to the report, their likely effect zones included the Chhendipada, Kaniha, and Jarpada ranges of the Angul division and the Reamal range of the Deogarh division.
The Chief Secretary gave the relevant officials instructions to develop a thorough plan for the preservation and protection of wildlife, as well as for mitigating the negative effects of coal mining on elephant mobility.
It was determined that national level institutions like the Indian Institute of Science or the Wildlife Institute of India would produce the overall strategy. Mahapatra, the chief secretary, emphasised that the plan needed to be created quickly and in accordance with national standards.
Senior officers from the concerned departments, including Principal Secretary Steel and Mines Deo Ranjan Kumar Singh, Principal Chief Conservators of Forests (HoFF) Debidatta Biswal, PCCF Wildlife, and Chief Conservator of Wildlife, participated in the debate. Over a video conference, Angul, the collector, and the DFO evaluated the field situation.
