Odisha Diverts Forest Land for Non-Forest Activities

In Odisha, the government has been using forest land for things other than forests, like building factories and mines.

Over the last 10 years, a very large area of forest land was used for these purposes.

The government says it followed all the rules when it did this.

Interestingly, the state has also gained some forest cover during this time.

This means some new forests have grown, even while some forest land was used for other things.

The government announced these details in a report, providing information about how forest land is being used in the state.