Bhubaneswar: The Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has expressed concerns on the Odisha government’s proposal for exploratory drilling in one of the blocks in the eco-sensitive region of Khandadhar area of Odisha’s Sundargarh district. The Odisha Mining Corporation, a state-run firm, had sought the Centre’s approval under the Forest Conservation Act for exploration/prospecting in 0.779 hectare of forest land (Facebook/dfobonaiforestdivision) The ministry’s forest advisory committee has asked the state government to conduct a scientific study to ascertain the impact of ongoing mining activities in Bonai Forest Division and its impact on the water regime of the area along with flow of water in the waterfall in its catchment before considering approval to diversion of forest land for exploratory drilling. The committee has also sought comments from the National Tiger Conservation Authority as the proposed area for prospecting was an elephant habitat and a Royal Bengal tiger was sighted in May last year. The Odisha Mining Corporation, a state-run firm, had sought the Centre’s approval under the Forest Conservation Act for exploration/prospecting in …