Puri's New Airport Gets Environment and CRZ Clearance, With a Bird Hazard Condition
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) gave Environmental Clearance and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Clearance to the greenfield (built on new, unused land) Shree Jagannath International Airport near Sipasarubali village in Puri district, Odisha.
The project covers 471.348 hectares, of which 353.862 hectares is government land. It will be built in phases. The first phase is planned for 4.6 million passengers per annum (MPPA).
The approval follows the recommendation of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), the expert panel that studies big projects for the ministry. The Ministry of Civil Aviation had already given a site clearance.
A Wildlife Institute of India (WII) study warned that migratory birds pose a serious risk to flights, because the site is close to Chilika Lake, a Ramsar Site (a wetland of international importance).
So the clearance comes with conditions. The builder must get a bird hazard study done by a reputed institute and submit it with its first six-monthly compliance report. It must also study bird migration in the area. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is doing a detailed study of the project area.
Other conditions: plant species around the airport that do not attract nesting birds; avoid water-hungry and invasive plants; and plan shoreline protection (such as Casuarina plantation) in consultation with Odisha's Forest Department.
Bird Strikes and Aviation Safety
A bird strike happens when a flying aircraft hits a bird. When the aircraft hits other animals too (like bats, deer or stray dogs on a runway), experts use the wider term wildlife strike. Most strikes do little harm. But a strike can crack a windshield, damage a wing, or kill an engine if birds are sucked into it. That is why every airport must plan carefully to keep birds away from aircraft.
The Puri airport site lies close to Chilika Lake, which hosts over a million migratory birds every winter. A Wildlife Institute of India study flagged this bird risk. So the environment ministry made a bird hazard study, a bird migration study and bird-safe planting conditions part of the clearance.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006
The EIA Notification, 2006 is the main rulebook that decides whether a big project in India can be built and on what conditions. It was issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Projects are split into Category A, which are cleared by the Union environment ministry, and Category B, which are cleared by state-level authorities. Before deciding, the ministry takes advice from an Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC).
The ministry's approval for the Puri airport is an Environmental Clearance under this notification. The bird hazard study, which must be filed with the first six-monthly compliance report, is one of its specific conditions.
Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019
The CRZ Notification, 2019 sets rules on what can and cannot be built along India's coastline. It was issued in January 2019 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and replaced the earlier 2011 notification (the first one came in 1991). It divides the coast into zones so that fragile areas like mangroves, beaches and turtle nesting sites are protected, while some planned development is still allowed.
The Puri airport site lies near the Odisha coast, so parts of it fall under coastal rules. That is why the project needed a CRZ Clearance in addition to the Environmental Clearance, and why shoreline protection was discussed by the expert committee.
Chilika Lake: India's Most Important Wetland
Chilika Lake is a large lagoon of brackish water (a mix of sea water and river water) on Odisha's east coast, spread across Puri, Khordha and Ganjam districts. It is India's largest coastal lagoon and one of the biggest wintering grounds for migratory birds in the country. In 1981 it became one of India's first Ramsar Sites, which means it is officially recognised as a wetland of international importance.
The proposed airport is reported to be about 16 km from Chilika Lake. Huge flocks of ducks and other migratory birds that winter here could cross the airport's flight paths, which is why the Wildlife Institute of India warned of a serious bird-hit risk.
- Airport: Shree Jagannath International Airport (greenfield), Sipasarubali, Puri district, Odisha
- Total area: 471.348 ha; government land: 353.862 ha
- First-phase capacity: 4.6 million passengers per annum
- Distance from Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar: about 50 km by air, 67 km by road
- Clearances: Environmental Clearance and CRZ Clearance by MoEFCC, on EAC recommendation
- Key condition: bird hazard study by a reputed institute, due with the first six-monthly compliance report
- Zoological Survey of India is conducting a detailed study of the project area
- Chilika Lake: Ramsar Site since 1 October 1981; about 11.32 lakh birds of 196 species counted in 2026
- Rule 91, Aircraft Rules, 1937: 10 km no-slaughter, no-garbage zone around aerodromes