Mon Jun 23 05:39:07 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
The Odisha government is planning to ease environmental regulations in ecologically sensitive zones, including national parks, tiger reserves, and coastal areas, to promote tourism. These plans involve amending Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) notifications to permit construction and commercial activities, requesting the central government to allow forest land use for tourism infrastructure, and re-examining Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) classifications. Experts express concern that this move could undermine environmental laws, harm biodiversity, and infringe on tribal rights. They criticize the absence of independent ecologists and tribal representatives from the committee overseeing these changes, as well as the lack of ecological assessments in the plans.
**News Article:**
**Odisha Plans to Ease Environmental Regulations to Boost Tourism, Sparking Controversy**
**New Delhi, June 23, 2025** – The Odisha government is facing criticism from environmentalists and legal experts over its plans to relax environmental regulations in ecologically sensitive areas to promote tourism. According to government records, the state is seeking to amend Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) notifications to allow construction and commercial activities, potentially impacting national parks, tiger reserves, and coastal regions.
The proposed changes include requesting the central government to permit forest land use for tourism infrastructure and re-examining Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) classifications to accommodate more tourism projects. A high-level committee has been formed to oversee these changes, but it lacks representation from independent ecologists, wildlife scientists, and tribal communities.
Critics argue that these measures could undermine forest, wildlife, and biodiversity laws, as well as tribal rights. They point to the absence of carrying capacity assessments, environmental impact studies, and consultations with relevant authorities, particularly in ecologically important areas like Chilika Lake, a designated Ramsar wetland.
“The State is the constitutional trustee of forests and wildlife, with a mandate to safeguard these natural assets,” said Debadityo Sinha, Lead – Climate & Ecosystems at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. He added that prioritizing economic interests over ecological imperatives could set a dangerous precedent and jeopardize Odisha’s rich biodiversity, as well as undermining national and international environmental obligations.
The planned changes also appear to contradict Supreme Court directives on buffer zones around protected areas and the National Forest Policy, which prioritizes environmental stability over direct economic benefits. The controversy raises concerns about balancing economic development with ecological preservation in the state.
First Piper 