Shree Jagannath International Airport receives Stage-I forest clearance

Exam-focused facts from the 7 April 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) granted Stage-I forest clearance for the Shree Jagannath International Airport at Puri on 1 April 2026.
MoEFCC allowed diversion of 27.886 hectares of forest land for the greenfield airport project.
The project was proposed by the Odisha government in 2023 and recommended by the advisory committee on 27 February 2023.
The airport is estimated to cost ₹5,631 crore and will span 471.34 hectares, including the diverted forest land.
The Union civil aviation ministry gave in-principle approval on 5 May 2025 based on Odisha’s commerce and transport department proposal.
The airport is designed to handle over 4 million passengers annually and aims to boost global pilgrim connectivity to Puri.