Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has ordered a detailed review of the village relocation exercise carried out in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve, setting up a five-member high-level committee to examine the process and address concerns surrounding the rehabilitation of affected families.
The panel, headed by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, will undertake a village-wise assessment of the relocation process, with Raiguda excluded from its review. It will examine whether the relocation was carried out in accordance with applicable laws, rules and guidelines related to settlements inside tiger reserves.
The committee will also scrutinise the identification of beneficiaries, including allegations of eligible families being left out or ineligible persons being included. It will assess the compensation and rehabilitation support provided to families shifted from the reserve and examine whether the prescribed provisions were properly followed.
Retired IFS officer Anup Nayak, a former Member Secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, is among the members of the panel. The committee has been given six weeks to submit its findings to the state government, which is expected to consider further action based on the report.
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