Kendrapara: The state's first-ever rehabilitation project for the sea erosion affected people has been accorded forest clearance for the speedy resettlement of oustees.
"The project to relocate the people from their ancestral villages of Satabhaya and Kanhupur is now on in full swing. After initial delay, it's now nearing completion. The rehabilitation project is scheduled to complete by March," said Kendrapara collector Reghu G.
The resettlement colony is coming up at Bagapatia village, which, according to the record, is a ringed out village of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary. So, clearance from the National Board for Wildlife was required. Through the state forest department, the administration had sought for green signal to the project. The board has okayed the project, he said.
While people are registering protest against land acquisition elsewhere, the things are on the contrary at Satabhaya. People here are intent on leaving their ancestral land for ever as the sea is steadily eating up their settlements.
Rajnagar mangrove (wildlife) forest divisional officer Bimal Prasanna Acharya said: "The state forest department had conferred official consent to the administrative report for excluding Bagapatia village from the ringed out village of the sanctuary classification. Bagapatia had been notified within the sanctuary in 1975 as a ringed out village. A proposal received in this regard from the revenue administration had been sent to the wildlife board. The state board had sent the same to the national board for accordance of clearance. We have received clearance from the national board, and it has been communicated to the district administration."
As many as 571 families, who are losing out their ancestral place of inhabitation to sea at Satabhaya, have been allocated 10 decimals for the construction of their dwelling houses in the resettlement colony. People are building their own houses with state funding from the Biju Pucca Ghar scheme. The beneficiaries have also been provided with land records of rights after the receipt of forest clearance approval from competent authorities, said officials.
Sixteen revenue villages, spread over 3,440 acres in the Satabhaya panchayat, have now been reduced to a couple of hamlets. Five villages - Mohanpura, Sanagahirmatha, Paramnandapura, Kaduanasi and Sahebnagar - have completely gone under the sea. Substantial portion of another eight villages have been submerged by the sea. Most of these villages do not have human settlements.