Bhubaneswar, March 30 -- The Odisha government has formally requested the Centre's approval to divert 216.875 hectares of forest land in Keonjhar district for mining activities related to the Gandhalpada iron ore block allotted to Tata Steel Ltd. The proposal, submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), outlines the need for forest land clearance under Section 2(1)(iii) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.

The forest land, located within the Keonjhar forest division, falls under a 241.1-hectare lease area, with 216.875 hectares designated as forest land, including a 4.21-hectare safety zone. The remaining 24.22 hectares are non-forest land. Tata Steel aims to nearly double its ...