After identifying eight locations across the State to create a 50,000-acre-strong land bank for expeditious setting up of industrial projects, the Odisha Government has now decided to identify an additional one lakh acres of land for undertaking compensatory afforestation.
The Revenue Department has asked Collectors of 21 districts to identify Government and wasteland for creation of the proposed land bank of one lakh acres for afforestation purpose.
“It has been decided at the Government level for creation of a land bank of 50,000 acres for accommodating incoming industrial projects and another bank of 1,00,000 acres for compensatory afforestation,” said a letter of the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) to the Collectors.
The creation of such a land bank is as per the provisions laid down in the Industrial Policy Resolution 2007.
Establishment of other social infrastructure like housing, educational institutions, healthcare and entertainment facilities in and around the industrial areas are highly necessary for sustainability of the industries, said the letter.
Notably, the Government has identified land in the Dhamra region in Bhadrak and Baleswar districts, Paradip region in Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada districts, Bhubaneswar region in Khordha and Nayagarh districts, Gopalpur region in Ganjam district, Sambalpur-Jharsuguda region, Sundargarh-Rourkela region, Dhenkanal-Angul region and Koraput-Rayagada-Kashipur region for creation of land bank.
Many projects, including Posco, are facing land hurdle following unavailability of undisputed land to set up their projects. The Government hopes that creation of land bank would help the companies set up their projects without facing hassles in acquisition of land.