Bhubaneswar: Over a quarter of Odisha’s coastline has been lost to erosion between 1990 and 2018, with approximately 140.72 km out of the state’s total 549.5 km shoreline succumbing to the sea, according to data from the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Informing this in the state assembly on Tuesday, state forest and environment minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia said the coastal erosion has left dozens of villages across four districts grappling with land loss and displacement, prompting the state government to initiate what it describes as the country’s first comprehensive rehabilitation package for communities affected by coastal erosion.
“Among the affected districts, Jagatsinghpur has suffered the most severe impact, with 55.6 per cent of its 58.72 km coastline eroded. Kendrapara follows with 36.8 per cent erosion, while Puri recorded the lowest erosion rate at 11.3 per cent. The NCCR, which has been monitoring shoreline changes using remote sensing data and GIS mapping techniques since 1990, provided the erosion estimates to the state government,” he said.
Khuntia said 26 villages in Kendrapara district, 14 villages in Ganjam, 6 in Puri district are also experiencing erosion, with reports indicating that 20 to 30 metres of land in these areas has been submerged.
{{/usCountry}}Khuntia said 26 villages in Kendrapara district, 14 villages in Ganjam, 6 in Puri district are also experiencing erosion, with reports indicating that 20 to 30 metres of land in these areas has been submerged.
{{/usCountry}}Officials of Odisha State Disaster Management Authority said around 85 % of the coastal zone of the state is in exceptionally weak condition because of deforestation and conversion of forest patches to agricultural purposes. Coastal erosion has expanded because of cyclonic storms that hit the state since 1940s with at least 10 major cyclones hitting the coast since 1982.
The minister said the state government has undertaken the relocation of five severely affected villages — Satabhaya, Kanhupur, Barahipur, Magarakanda and Rabindrapalli — from Satabhaya Gram Panchayat in Kendrapara’s Rajnagar block. Residents are being resettled in Bagapatia village under Gupti Gram Panchayat, located approximately 9 km from their original homes.
The government has sanctioned 18 projects worth ₹22.52 crore for the rehabilitation effort. The package includes housing, educational facilities such as primary and high schools, an Anganwadi centre, a multi-purpose cyclone shelter, community halls, a playground, a godown, a market complex, and a cremation ground.
Beyond infrastructure, the rehabilitation plan incorporates livelihood support initiatives including bio-floc fish farming, goatery and dairy units, and tailoring enterprises. The existing saline embankment will also be strengthened to protect communities from tidal surges.
He said the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department is implementing the Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities (ECRICC) project across seven landscapes in Balasore, Puri, Kendrapara and Ganjam districts. Over the past five years, the project has successfully restored 2,343.86 hectares of mangroves and 300 hectares of coastal watershed. In Ganjam, the initiative has addressed soil and water conservation through check dams, water harvesting structures and earthen bunds.
He added that the state has submitted a Detailed Project Report worth ₹121.22 crore under the MDRSEP scheme for consideration. Additionally, a DPR has been prepared for proposing improvements and construction of saline embankments covering 247.17 km along the Balikuda-Erasama coastline in Jagatsinghpur district.
OSDMA is also collaborating with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on projects to combat sea-level rise and erosion. The government is also working with the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Chennai, to prepare and update shoreline erosion maps and a shoreline management plan for the Odisha coast, he added.