Bhubaneswar: The state government would take steps to check podu, the slash-and-burn cultivation popular among tribal people.

The practice that involves burning patches of vegetation, mainly on the hill slopes to clear land for farming, is taking a heavy toll of state's greenery.

Sources said a drive against podu was necessary as it had turned long stretches of forests in southern districts such as Koraput and Malkangiri into scrub land. The once verdant hills in many parts of Malkangiri now sport a bald look, thanks to the extensive destruction of greenery by tribal farmers.

"Steps against podu had been taken in the past with tribal farmers being offered viable alternatives, but the practice continues as this kind of farming is both crude and cheap. Now, the state government is thinking of weaning the farmers from this by making them aware of its disastrous impact on the soil," said a government official, who did not wish to be named.

Environmentalist Shashi Kant Mishra said that though podu was a low-cost farming option for the tribal people, it destroyed the fertility of the land on which it was practised.