Puri's Greenfield Shree Jagannath International Airport Gets Environmental and CRZ Clearance from MoEFCC

Key facts

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has granted Environmental Clearance and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Clearance for the greenfield Shree Jagannath International Airport on 471.348 hectares of land in Sipasarubali, Puri district, Odisha.
• The clearance, based on the Expert Appraisal Committee's recommendation, was published on October 8, 2026, and the project is being developed in phases near Sipasarubali village on the outskirts of Puri.
• The first phase is expected to handle 4.6 million passengers per annum (MPPA), with most of the 471.348-hectare project area comprising government land.
• The proposed airport site is about 50 km aerial distance and 67 km road distance from the existing Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation had earlier accorded site clearance.
• A Wildlife Institute of India study flagged that migratory birds from Chilika Lake, a Ramsar Site and wetland of international importance, could pose a risk to flights, so MoEFCC directed the project proponent to prepare a bird hazard study from a reputed institute and submit it with the first six-monthly compliance report.
• The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is undertaking a comprehensive study of the proposed project area, and environmental protection measures for migratory birds must be designed with ecological and wildlife experts and incorporated into the Environmental Management Plan.
• Approval conditions require careful selection of plantation species to avoid bird nesting, prohibit water-intensive and invasive species for landscaping, and direct consultation with Odisha's Forest Department for shoreline plantation such as Casuarina in line with the regional marine ecosystem.