You don’t expect to see lush green forests with multiple species of plants near an active coal mining pit. However, that’s exactly what you will find at the ‘Kayakalp Vatika’ near the Piparwar Open Cast Mine (OCM), the largest coal-producing mine in Jharkhand. The area wore a barren look not so long ago, but a unique initiative by the Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) has changed the face of the place. The CCL is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL), an undertaking of the Government of India. The ‘Kayakalp Vatika’ initiative aims to reinstate biodiversity in the reclaimed mining land. The project was started with just five hectares of land at first but has been expanded up to 30 hectares due to its success. The initiate was also praised by CAG in its report.
“Kayakalp means ‘Rejuvenation’. This in-house initiative started in 2015, has been conceptualized with many interventions like landscaping, soil enrichment, rainwater harvesting, and development of water bodies apart from plantation over the reclaimed land,” said CCL Environment Officer Sanjay Kumar.
The reclaimed land under ‘Kayakalp Vatika’ initiative has been undergoing a gradual change with increased soil moisture level and soil fertility, informed Kumar.
“The reclaimed land is getting converted into a rich bio-diverse area,” he added. According to Kumar, the aim is to develop the area into a forest with diverse habitats sustaining each other and developing into a self-sustaining eco-system.The Piparwar OCM is spread over 540 acres of land, out of which 272 acres have already been reclaimed, and 30 acres have been developed under the ‘Kayakalp Vatika’ initiative.
The aim of ‘Kaykalp Vatika’ is to accelerate the natural process of regeneration, Kumar added.
The CCL wants to develop ‘Kayakalp Vatika’ as Best Practices and a replicable and scalable model for sustainable coal mining with benefits for the local communities.The local forest officials are also acknowledging the initiative taken by the CCL.“They have their own setup and the land has been given to the CCL which they are developing under the initiative,” said Chotte Lal Sao, Range Officer, Tandwa.The local people are also happy as they now have a place for recreation where no greenery was to be seen earlier.
“Five years ago, mining activities were being carried out in the same place. CCL has now developed the place into green forests in a very short time. We frequently take our family and children. Being a mining area, there is no such place around where we can take our children for recreational activities,” said Pradeep Kesri, the Ward Councilor of Benti village.