Short description of the best practice

Soil amendments, plantation along the ridges, slopes, soil moisture conservation and water harvesting were undertaken in the completely degraded and barren patch land (mostly fly ash in place of soil) for the formation of Green Belt. Pit ash treated with surface soil, FYM, Vermicompost, Rice husk, Neem oil cake, DAP, Lime and Micronutrients per plant before plantation of suitable tree species. The project has transformed the area into well established Green belt leading to improvement in soil quality, afforested area and extent of dust pollution has been reduced substantially.|

Location

Chandrapura Thermal Power Station, Chandrapura, Dhanbad.|

Brief description of the natural environment within the specified location.

Light coloured, moderate depth, slightly acidic (pH 61. To 6.6) and deficient in organic content. The surface soil was sandy and sub surface soil sandy clay in texture.|
Mostly hot with average rainfall.
Undulated area with occasional hills, covered with degraded plantations mainly of Cassia siamea with sporadic regeneration of Butea monosperma, Zizyphus spp. Lantana was the most prevalent weed. The area having no cultivated land. All the sites were highly eroded.|

On the basis of which criteria and/or indicator(s) (not related to The Strategy) the proposed practice and corresponding technology has been considered as 'best'?

The methodology adopted for the selection of species, soil amendments was based on soil quality and species most suitable for that kind of soil and climate. The entire methodology including soil testing, soil treatment, and selection of most suitable species for the prevailing climatic and edaphic condition around project site was based on thorough literature survey and reports from previous successful work done on similar sites and its recommendations. The project site was kept under constant monitoring and data related with plantation growth and soil characteristics were recorded. |

Main problems addressed by the best practice

Reclamation of stress site

Outline specific land degradation problems addressed by the best practice

The project has been implemented on a highly stressed site and the land quality was totally degraded. Through the project it was expected to meet with the problem of degraded soil quality soil erosion, soil moisture conservation and further amendments in the soil quality.  The project area would also convert in to green belt, which was totally unproductive, before the project was taken up.|

Specify the objectives of the best practice

The technology envisaged to develop vegetation features including soil amendments, plantation along the ridges, slopes, soil moisture conservation and water harvesting in the degraded land for the formation of Green Belt around the selected project site.|

Brief description of main activities, by objective

Afforestation on Ridges and slopes of Ash pond areas
i.Site inspection, preparation, alignment and stacking of pits, digging of pits as per standard.
ii.Pit ash treatments with surface soil, FYM, Vermicompost, Rice husk, Neem oil cake, DAP, Lime and Micronutrients per plant before plantation.
iii.A total of 25800 seedlings have been plated of the above species.
iv.Plantations maintained with proper irrigation, weeding, insecticide use and watch and ward.
|v.Monitoring and evaluation- (a) Growth data   at periodic intervals (b) irrigation of plantations.
Afforestation on Degraded forest lands 20 hectares on North-east of Ash Pond ‘A’ and 10 hectares on North of Ash pond ‘D’
i. Site inspection, preparation, alignment and stacking of pits, digging of pits as per standard.
ii. Pit soil treatments – Good surface earth, Vermicompost, Rice husk, Neem oil cake, DAP, Lime and Micronutrients per plant before plantation.
|iii.A total of 15000 seedlings have been plated of the above species and maintained with proper irrigation, weeding, insecticide use and watch and ward.
iv.Monitoring and evaluation (a) Growth data at periodic intervals (b) irrigation of plantations.
Establishment of permanent Hi-Tech Nursery: A hi-tech nursery equipped with all the modern facilities including Mist chambers, green house and root trainers has been established. The facility has been utilized for raising quality seedlings of Acacia mangium, A. auriculiformis, Albizzia lebbek, Alstonia scholaris, Azadirachta indica, Bombax ceiba, Bouhinia variegate, Delonix regia, Dalbergia sisoo, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Gmelina arborea, Melia azadiracht, Sesbania grandiflora, Pongamia pinnata,|Syzygium cumini, Terminalia arjuna, Swietenia mahogani, Spathodia campanulata, Peltopherum ferrugineum, Cashew nut etc

Short description and technical specifications of the technology

With the aim of green belt development around Chandrapura Thermal Power Station, Chandrapura, Dhanbad soil amendments, plantation along the ridges, slopes, soil moisture conservation and water harvesting were undertaken in the completely degraded and barren patch land (mostly fly ash in place of soil) for the formation of Green Belt. A hi-tech nursery equipped with all the modern facilities including mist chambers, green house and root trainers was  established for raising quality seedlings of Acacia mangium, A. auriculiformis, Albizzia lebbek, Alstonia scholaris, Azadirachta indica, Bombax ceiba, Bouhinia variegate, Delonix regia, Dalbergia sisoo, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Gmelina arborea, Melia azadiracht, Sesbania grandiflora, Pongamia pinnata, Syzygium cumini, Terminalia arjuna, Swietenia mahogani, Spathodia campanulata, Peltopherum ferrugineum, Cashew nut etc. Two types of afforestation approach were followed. The first was afforestation on ridges and slopes of Ash pond areas with pit ash treated with surface soil, FYM, Vermicompost, Rice husk, Neem oil cake, DAP, Lime and Micronutrients per plant before plantation of suitable tree species (28500 in number). The second was afforestation on degraded forest lands (20 ha). 15000 seedlings were planted after pit soil treatments of good surface earth, Vermicompost, Rice husk, Neem oil cake, DAP, Lime and Micronutrients per plant before plantation. The project has transformed the area into well established Green belt leading to improvement in soil quality, afforested area and extent of dust pollution has been reduced substantially. The transformation of the degraded land has been reflected in excellent growth of tree species and remarkable regeneration of herb and shrub flora; a sign for establishment of successional process.|

Name and address of the institution developing the technology

Institute of Forest Productivity|NH23, Lalgutwa, Ranchi

Was the technology developed in partnership?

No

Specify the framework within which the technology was promoted

• Programme/project-based initiative

Was the participation of local stakeholders, including CSOs, fostered in the development of the technology?

Yes

List local stakeholders involved:

Damodar Valley Corporation, Kolkata|

For the stakeholders listed above, specify their role in the design, introduction, use and maintenance of the technology, if any.

The project was designed, introduced and implemented by IFP only. The stakeholder DVC supported the project with funding and by providing suitable sites for nursery establishment with all facilities like fencing, water supply etc. |

Was the population living in the location and/or nearby involved in the development of the technology?

Yes

Specify:

Yes. Local population was involved in the overall implementation of the technology mostly as labour workers in the nursery and plantation.

Describe on-site impacts (the major two impacts by category)

The project has been implemented on unproductive, fly ash site. The site was completely degraded and it was completely barren patch. |
The project has transformed the area into well established Green belt leading to improvement in soil quality, afforested area and extent of dust pollution has been reduced substantially. The invading species of grasses n herbs has also been increased.|

Describe the major two off-site (i.e. not occurring in the location but in the surrounding areas) impacts

The project led to spread general awareness among people living in and around the area towards importance of afforestation for improvement of environment.

Impact on biodiversity and climate change

Explain the reasons:

The factors related to climate change has not been assessed but with respect to biodiversity aspect, the situation has been improved as grass, herbs, shrubs and even tree species have started regenerating in the reclaimed site. Due to this development the faunal population including birds has been seen in large number in the site.|

Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out?

Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out?

No

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Yes

Where?

Similar type of project has been implemented by various agencies at different locations

Can you identify the three main conditions that led to the success of the presented best practice/technology?

Careful selection of species for plantation in the project site. The species were selected based on soil characteristics and the climatic conditions of the area. For this purpose thorough literature review was done to identify the most suitable species for the prevailing climatic and edaphic condition.
Availability of regular amount of fund for implementation of the project.
Regular and constant monitoring of the project site.

Replicability

In your opinion, the best practice/technology you have proposed can be replicated, although with some level of adaptation, elsewhere?

Yes

At which level?

• Local

Related to technical aspects

The fly ash affected pockets should be vegetatively rehabilitated to benefit the overall environmental components of the region including improvement in soil quality, development of afforested area and to manage the extent of dust pollution.|