Naveen Inaugurates Urban Forest ‘Anandabana’ In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dedicated Anandabana, an “urban forest”, to the people of Bhubaneswar on Monday.

The Chief Minister spent some time in the green landscape of Anandabana and appreciated its beauty. Recognising the importance of preserving green spaces and fostering a healthy urban environment, Anandabana aims at establishing green infrastructure and enhancing the air quality index.

At the inaugural ceremony, also present were Kartik Pandian, Chairman of 5T (Transformational Initiatives), Nabin Odisha; Shri Ashok Chandra Panda, Hon’ble Minister, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department ; Mrs. Sulochana Das, Mayor, BMC; Shri P K Jena Chief Secretary , Shri Satyabrata Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Forest & Environment; Shri D.K. Singh ACS, Steel & Mines -Cum- Chairman, OMC, Debidutta Biswal PCCF HoFF, Manoj V Nair Director Nanadan Kanan Biological Park , Shri Balwant Singh, Vice-Chairman, Director Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Sanjeet Kumar RCCF Bhubaneswar, DFO City Forest Div and other various dept officials .

Anandabana has been conceptualised to ensure that the citizens of Bhubaneswar continue to enjoy a vibrant and sustainable city life. The government is undertaking significant initiatives in redevelopment of forest areas to create “urban forests”.

Developed in an area of over 89.05 acre, Anandabana offers a range of amenities to its visitors. Those include vehicle parking space, benches for relaxation, gazebos, rain shelters, children’s play area, public facilities and kiosks serving healthy food. It also serves as a platform for nurturing future environmental leaders.

The site features 550 meters of rock trails, 32750 square feet of water bodies, enhancing the serene ambiance and providing habitats for various aquatic species. Around 12,000 Miyawaki plantations has been taken up utilising the Japanese technique to preserve biodiversity.

Besides, Anandabana offers 1,000 meters of soil trails and 3,830 meters of bicycle trails with 69 different types of medicinal plants and 10,000 urban plantations to provide a unique and enriching experience.

It has been planned and executed under the principles of 5T with involvement of Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Odisha Mining Corporation Limited (OMC) and City Forest department.

AMA BHOOMI Initiative

The chief minister also launched the government’s ‘AMA BHOOMI’ (Assuring Mass Access through Bhubaneswar Open Space Ownership and Management) initiative on the occasion.

This is a 5T initiative taken up by the BDA with an objective to create and maintain open spaces promoting well-being, sustainability, and a resilient urban landscape in the state capital.

In order to meet the growing requirement for open spaces in the city, five distinct assets including parks, playfields, multipurpose grounds such as cultural spaces, crematoriums and durga mandaps, blueways (water bodies) and greenways (open spaces and corridors along public roads) will be identified under the initiative.

Under this policy, land will be developed as open spaces through development models, establishing a special fund, and implementing an institutional mechanism to address the challenges in the present system for open space provision.

For the implementation of this initiative, the BDA has divided its approach into two key components: “hardware” and “software.”

The “hardware” components include earmarking of land as per national and international benchmark with the support of the General Administration (GA) department. Additionally, the financial resources will be managed with the help from various government departments while development of assets will be done with the help of various government project executing agencies.

The “software” components cover the establishment of the AMA BHOOMI division in BDA, serving as the cornerstone for the overall management of this initiative.